On a track that winds through farmland between Munlochy and Avoch, on Scotland’s Black Isle, a woman gives Tracey a warm hug.
In a cafe, a few miles on, another woman struggles to hide her emotions and tears slip silently down her face as she is offered a small knitted heart as a keepsake.
There is another embrace, this time more spontaneous, with another stranger on a beach at Chanonry Point.
This is the first time I’ve been witness to the general public’s response to my friend’s extraordinary story – but it does not surprise me having followed Tracey’s progress both physically and emotionally over the past nine months.
Tracey’s trek: 5000 miles around mainland Britain
On November 1 last year, Tracey Howe set out from her home city of Glasgow to walk 5000 miles around the coast of Britain in memory of her wife Angela White, who died in September 2023.
Deep in grief, the retired professor hoped that the year-long journey would bring her some peace.
In addition, she felt a strong sense of purpose to raise money for five charities.
The crocheted hearts are a brilliant added extra. “I like to give the people that I meet a heart and I tell them it’s a way to remember someone they have lost,” says Tracey.
“So many times, people are moved to tears or they want to tell me about their own loss and grief,” she adds.
So far, the 61-year-old has completed some 3700 miles – that’s more than eight million steps – of the route. Tracey’s Trek has taken her around the full coast of England and Wales and she is now completing a circuit of Scotland.
This week, she has walked from Burghead in Moray to Nairn, then on to Inverness and along the east side of the Black Isle.
Today, I accompanied her from my home in Kilmuir to Rosemarkie – and tomorrow she will continue north to Cromarty.
She spends nights in her motorhome and relies on public transport or the kindness of friends, family and strangers to take her to and from the start and finish of each day’s route.
A journey through grief
Throughout the trek, Tracey has become much fitter, lost stones in weight and is now very used to her daily routine. And while she began the journey “completely shattered and heartbroken” at losing the love of her life, her mood and emotions have become calmer.
“It’s been a long process,” Tracey reveals. “At first, I was filled with pain and rage. I was so angry to have lost Angela to cancer at the age of just 58.
“When the rain came I cried into it and then I screamed into the wind. But the walking has given me a lot of time on my own and I have had many hours to think. The journey has been very cathartic.
“In recent weeks, I have been able to remember the better times with Angela. I have been able to remember her laughing, her chat and her love of dancing.
“I have realised I am not dwelling so much on those awful last months as she was taken from us, but the lovely times we had with our sons and friends before that.”
One of these memories is spotting dolphins on the Black Isle. “Years ago, Angela and I chanced upon Chanonry during a holiday and we were lucky enough to see dolphins jumping out of the water,” Tracey recalls.
Our visit during the 25km hike today offered a glimpse of more distant dolphins but, nevertheless, it made Tracey smile broadly.
“It is a relief to remember the happier times now,” she adds. “I am feeling so much lighter and brighter in general.”
The walk home
Tracey has more than 1000 miles still to walk to complete the journey by October 31, back in Glasgow.
She will continue to hand out the crocheted hearts and she hopes that more people will donate to her fundraiser.
“I have chosen charities that offered support to Angela, myself and our sons Will and Danny,” she says.
They include Beatson Cancer Charity, Marie Curie, brainstrust, Breast Cancer Now and CoppaFeel!.
She explains: “The NHS, The Beatson and Marie Curie gave our family tremendous support when Angela was diagnosed with cancer. She had two blood cancers, myeloma and amyloidosis, which her doctors described as the most aggressive they had ever seen.
“I am also supporting brainstrust because prior to the cancer, Angela had also suffered a brain tumour. It was a benign meningioma but it caused her many health difficulties.
“It was such a cruel blow that Angela was recovering from the brain tumour when we found out about the cancers. Tragically, she died only months later.”
Tracey’s sister-in-law, who has breast cancer, has chosen the other two other charities.
At the end of our day’s walk in Rosemarkie, as we enjoyed a late lunch at Crofter’s, Tracey received a notification that one of today’s strangers had already made a donation to the fundraiser.
“I try to talk to as many people as I can each day,” Tracey says. “When I started the round-Britain hike I found it hard to do. It was so emotional telling people about why I was walking.
“But Angela would have told me to talk. She would have said that talking is a good therapy. Now I can tell people more easily about the grief and the walk and why I am raising funds for these charities.
“I really want to raise as much money as I can.”
Please do donate to Tracey’s Trek if you can.
Also keep track of her progress on her website.