What started out as just a sarcastic ‘why don’t you just walk to Germany’ jibe from one of his friends, quickly became a reality for the Scotland fan who arrived in Munich today after setting off from Hampden last month.

Craig Ferguson from Paisley reached the centre of Munich this afternoon around 12pm, where hundreds of Tartan Army greeted him, one day ahead of Scotland’s Euro 2024 opening match with host nation Germany.

The 20-year-old has spent the last 41 days trekking across the UK and Europe to make it in time for Scotland’s first abroad tournament in 26 years, and he’s raised thousands of pounds for a men’s mental health charity in the process.

Craig spoke to The Herald while he was walking on the penultimate day of his adventure, and shared how the experience has been one of his greatest accomplishments in life.

He said: “I wanted to do something special for Scotland getting to a major tournament and without the cloud of Covid above this tournament's head. I felt like this was a perfect opportunity.

“It’s been the journey of a lifetime and I wouldn’t change one second of it.

“Of course, a challenge that is this long and strenuous there’s going to be some challenges. Some of the lowest points for me have only been when the weather’s been horrible, the rain has been pelting, and I have no signal, but these or things out of my control.

“A high for me has just been walking through brand new places, meeting new people, exploring new you know, cities, towns, villages, I think the interactions with people has really been my favourite part of the journey so far.

“Instantly you get greeted with a big bit of surprise and people ask ‘are you mad?’ But once you explain what it's all for, then people realise it's a really worthwhile cause.

“I think everyone gets behind it instantly. But, I can't imagine people in Luxembourg often see, people in kilts walking through so you can understand the initial confusion.”

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Craig was waved off by his friends and family at Hampden on Saturday 4 May, and was greeted by some of them alongside huge crowds, and press and media when he arrived at Marienplatz in the city on Thursday afternoon.

The Paisley man’s route took him from Hampden to Newcastle, to Hull, and then a ferry to Rotterdam. Once arriving in Holland, his route took him from Rotterdam to Maastricht on the Dutch border with Belgium, and then through Luxembourg and into Germany where his final stretch finishes today.

All the while, Craig has also documented the entire journey on his social media pages on Instagram and Tik Tok, keeping everyone updated and meeting like minded Scotland fans who are travelling over to Germany.

His fundraiser for mental health charity Brothers in Arms surpassed £50,000 today.

Craig added: “The total keeps ticking up which is just insane, and it is just so much more than what I could have imagined at the start. It’s just incredible and I think it just goes to show how much of an important issue it is for everyone back home, and how much people are really willing to support the great cause.”

When Craig set off, he didn’t have a ticket for the match. However, after more than 1.5 million steps, crossing six countries, and receiving lots of attention on the way, he managed to snag a ticket with only a week to spare thanks to Peoples BYD, a sponsor of the European Championship,  noticing his journey.

Craig plans on enjoying a few days on the beers with the other 200,000 members of the Tartan Army who have made their way over for the biggest match in Scotland’s recent history.

After walking 500 miles, and walking 500 more, he’ll also be among the 10,000 lucky Scotland fans who will watch from inside the Allianz Arena when kick-off gets underway on Friday night.