Starsky and Hutch environmental explorers in Dundee

The pair are cycling all around the UK and telling the stories of climate activists

Starsky and Hutch at Tay FM studios
Author: Dale EatonPublished 4th Jul 2022

Martin Hutchinson and his dog Starsky have reached Dundee as part of their cycling adventure across the UK to meet and highlight the stories of climate activists and those working in sustainability.

Martin posts interviews with those he meets on his adventures on his YouTube channel, including a recent meeting with Liz Taylor from Broughty Ferry in Bloom.

The pair, known as 'Starsky and Hutch, 21st century environmental explorers', have been all across Tayside recently as they spent time meeting people in St Andrews and Tayport before cycling to Dundee.

Having been on the road for 16 years Martin has done his fair share of travelling.

Martin, from Manchester, has walked over 34,000km over 21 countries, starting in Mexico to witness the impact of climate change.

He said: "I did sail away from England but I lost my yacht off the African coast near Sierra Leone and that was the start of it. I was going to go to the Pacific to have a look at the garbage patch there for myself but basically, after that, I had nothing.

"Everything I owned was on my yacht, I thought, I've got nothing to lose so I went to Mexico and I don't know why but I just started walking and I thought well this is alright and I just carried on with that."

His solo travels soon became a tandem when came across Starsky in Portugal. Martin said: "We've been together for six years now and it was sort of like meant to be. I was helping out in the kennels in the south of Portugal just for a few days because I wasn't feeling very well, feeling very week. He came along and it was just like an instant bond. "

The pair have since cycled over 35,00km across 16 countries in Europe and are now on their trek around the UK.

Over his travels Martin has spoken to children at 752 schools, accompanied by his trusty four legged partner. Most of his talks came in Central and South America.

On his travels, Martin has discovered some of the planets beauty but also some distressing scenes. He said: "I went to Panama, up in a volcano, and it's the only place in the world where there is actually square trees. Not many people realise there is actually square trees on the planet.

"On the environmental side, the worst thing I've seen is a government truck dumping rubbish into the amazon river four times a day and nobody does anything about it. I've put it on the national news, I've put it on the BBC and I've put it all around and I had a petition going but it's still going on."

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