Craig Ferguson: the Paisley man who walked to Munich

After making headlines with his 1,017 mile journey from Glasgow to Munich for charity, Paisley’s own Craig Ferguson details that historic trip and outlines what’s next 

Although the man is still in his early twenties, Craig Ferguson is intent on immersing himself in as many other cultures and countries as he can. Now well into double figures of the nations that he’s graced, Craig explains that even before he walked from Scotland to Germany to raise money, travel has always been at the forefront of his mind for a long time now.

“To actually pinpoint a certain moment would be hard, but I think that one of the main sources was my big brother Calum,” he said of his early interest in globe-trotting. “He’s two years older than me and I always saw him going on these extravagant holidays and I thought, ‘I want to do that’. As soon as I could after Covid, I went to Budapest when I was freshly 18 and I just loved it. I think doing it so early on broke through that fear and now I’m on something like 36 countries in four or five years.” 

No stranger to heading out on his own, this irrepressible love of travel was parlayed into his biggest project yet – walking 1,017 miles to meet the Tartan Army in Munich. However, what you might not know is that it was born from a frivolous comment from a friend. 

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“Walking to Germany came about purely from my pal and I trying to work out how to get there. Obviously, people were booking flights or driving and he just made the joke of ‘aw, you should just walk there’. Naturally, I was like ‘aye right, I’ll just walk there’. But, eventually, a sort of cartoonish lightbulb moment happened and I thought ‘wait, there’s something in that’.

“I started planning it and more and more pieces started to fall in place, I realised I could actually do something with this. It got to a point where I was just too deep down the rabbit hole and it was like ‘right Craig, you need to do this’. Once I’d convinced myself, I then spoke to my mum and close family. So, once I’d put it out there to them, I had to actually do it!” 

Reflecting on this mammoth quest, Craig recalls that it was obviously difficult and had its pitfalls. However, that was overshadowed by the “buzz” he got from doing it. 

Craig Ferguson, photo Alana Peberdy

“It’s all well and good sitting and coming up with the routes,” he declared. “But you don’t know what’s going to happen over the course of a month long thing. For the most part, things went alright, except getting lost and things like that. But, that just comes along with it and that just adds to the story. I mean, who likes a story where everything goes swimmingly? It makes for a better story.” 

With a nostalgic smirk on his face, Craig recalled one notable disaster which came around the halfway mark and could’ve derailed the whole thing. 

“There was a night where the weather took a real turn for the worst in the Netherlands. Once I saw that, I realised I’d have to keep powering through and on my map, there was this route through these woodlands. Initially, I looked for the alternative as it was dark but it would’ve added like three hours onto the journey so I was like ‘right, it’ll be fine’. Well, how wrong I was (laughs). About a mile or two in, it was pitch black and I realised I had no idea where I was going and my phone was on low battery. There were so many wee paths that I literally couldn’t get out if I tried so luckily, the good old fashioned compass on my bag came into play. I knew I wanted to go south, so I just went as southerly as I could and the minute I saw a crack of light, I just ran for it. My adrenaline was so high and I was like ‘Craig, that was so stupid man, you need to watch yourself (laughs)’.”

Despite the hardships and moments where it all became daunting, Craig was spurred on by not only his close support network, but supporters from far and wide who got behind the campaign.

“Knowing every single person was holding you accountable and seeing all the lovely messages coming in really helped. Particularly when people were saying that it inspired them to open up. It felt like people were waiting for the next update, so that definitely carried me through.”

Cover image by Millan Bryson-Sword

Given a hero’s welcome when he arrived in the German capital, that first beer in Munich might’ve tasted sweeter than any other. But as it turns out, a little refreshment was part of his nightly ritual to unwind after a hard day’s graft. 

“I’d love to pretend that one in Germany was the first one I had, but I was having one every night at the nearest pub (laughs). But, from when I first crossed the line in Munich, the next two weeks that transpired were some of the best of my life. Not only with the Tartan Army, but with my pals who met me out there too. It was just such a high after everything I’d done to get there.” 

Rather than doing it purely for a sense of personal accomplishment, Craig undertook the walk for men’s mental health charity Brother’s In Arms. Initially, his fundraising target was £10,000 that he felt was “so ambitious”. However, after hitting that mark just as the walk commenced, it was upped to the point that by the final day, he raised an incredible £78,000. This led to a nomination for FIFA Fan of the Year and now, he is intent on carrying the momentum of that momentous 2024 forward. Chief among those ambitions is expanding his social media platform and bringing his love of scouring new countries to others who’ve always dreamed of doing it, but maybe just needed a wee nudge in the right direction.

“At the end of the day, I want to be successful just like everyone else. Travel is obviously my passion and in August of this year, I’ll be hosting my first group trip. We’re heading off to Peru for 12 days and the plan is that people who follow my social media or like the idea of it can come along. The idea of wanting to bring that kind of travel to like-minded people is so exciting to me. After 12 days in such a once in a lifetime place like that, it’ll be amazing.” 

Possessing high hopes for the future, Craig, who became an ambassador for the Brothers in Arms charity following his monumental trek, plans for further fundraising too. However, it won’t be something he’ll ever take lightly. 

“I definitely got the taste for it. It was so powerful when you see the community you can build and particularly when it’s such a good cause,” he pondered. “But, it would need to be something that really sparks my interest, but there’s definitely going to be more challenges like that in the future. Particularly if we can make it to the next world cup!” 

Q&A with Craig Ferguson

Dream Destination? I want to do all seven wonders of the world, so I’d say the Great Wall of China. 

Dream travel companion? Simon Wilson, his videos were a massive inspiration to me. 

Favourite spot in Paisley? I obviously love Paisley Abbey and the landmarks, but I’m down at Pro Life almost every day! I’m a St Mirren man, so it’s got to be De Beers for a pint as well. 

Since we conducted this interview, Craig was honoured by Provost Lorraine Cameron by receiving the Provost’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in March 2025. 

For more from Craig Ferguson, follow him on Instagram and TikTok @craigferguson_1