2021.08.16 Daily Record
A nudist couple have embarked on a month-long "wedding pilgrimage" - walking 220 miles across Scotland.
Silke Muys, 30 and Kieran Shannon, 28, won’t need much in the way of clothes - except for a sturdy pair of boots - during their adventure from Girvan, South Ayrshire, to the Isle of Skye.
The pair, who work as models and dancers, spend a lot of time travelling, getting naked, and taking pictures of themselves to post to their 40,000 Instagram followers.
They decided to embark on the epic naked trek as a way for Sally - originally from Belgium - to see the beauty of Scotland up close.
"It was Silke's idea, and at first I thought she was just joking," said Kieran, from Glasgow.
"But Scotland is a special place to us, Skye especially, as that's where we got engaged, so the more we talked about it the more it seemed like an amazing plan."
Setting off last week, the couple had to cope with some torrential rain in the first few days.
"We're currently doing the West Highland Way, and will then walk and camp west through Glenfinnan and Mallaig to get the boat to Skye as we thought that was a little more romantic," said Kieran.
"It's been incredible so far, but walking on average seven hours a day with a 22kg and 16kg backpack is pretty tough going. It's definitely harder than we thought it would be.
"We had planned to hike up Ben Lomond and Ben Nevis, but we've decided to leave that out of the schedule to give ourselves a bit more time to reach Skye."
After tying the knot on August 30, the happy ramblers then plan to embark on a 10-year honeymoon, spending the next decade travelling the world.
The free-spirited couple have 40,000 followers on social media and strive to promote body positivity by posting pictures where their clothes are often absent.
"We aren't strangers to living out of a backpack, as we spent a lot of our relationship travelling and working throughout Asia and Europe before Covid hit," said Sally.
"We've spent lockdown living in Scotland with Kieran's family and being mostly in one place, so to be able to be out travelling and camping and going back to that lifestyle we love so much has been really amazing."
The couple, who met three-and-a-half years ago in Spain while working for a dance company, got engaged at the Quiraing on Skye on April 29 this year, with the surprise proposal being captured by Belle Art Photography.
"We're also getting married at the Quiraing," said Sally.
"I'm really hopeful my parents can make it over from Belgium for the wedding, and Kieran's parents will bring my dress and our wedding clothes as they were just too heavy for us to carry the whole way.
"We're just so excited we can do something so unique and us' ahead of our wedding day. The journey has been hard, but so special.
"Every day has been an adventure and we've met so many kind people along the way who have offered to help us or just chat.
"We're so looking forward to being married and all the future adventures still to come."
You can follow the couple on Instagram at: www.Instagram.com/silkyrontheroad
