n Edinburgh is to play host to Europe's largest-ever charity walk this Sunday. The Great Scottish Walk is a competitive walk with teams of four-to-six individuals competing for cups and medals. The 12-mile stroll will raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Research Foundation and Alzheimer's Scotland. The foot lubricants and energy drinks will be on hand as from 10.30am to sustain walkers on the route from Holyrood Park to Murrayfield Stadium. Trophies, medals, and completion certificates will greet the panting participants at the finish.

n George W Macpherson has been telling stories for 60 years and getting away with it. The Skye-based storyteller learnt his art on his grandfather's knee. The fifth Isle of Skye Storytelling Festival runs from Tuesday to Saturday with Macpherson and Paraig MacNeill as the main attractions. Describing the historical importance of Skye as the host island, the sixtysomething storyteller says: ''Skye is a wonderful repository of thousands of stories: from traditional Celtic to international stories. We cover heroes, magic, clans, water horses, seal people and fairies, and many other subjects up to 2500 years' old.'' The first three days of the festival are billed as an ''immersion'' in authentic Highland storytelling in the crofting community of Glendale before a Saturday trip to the now uninhabited isle of Rona to celebrate stories of the lost community. Call Scottish Storytelling Centre on

0131 557 5724 or Portree Tourist Information Centre on 01478 612137.