My Story

I did it! 56 days and 948 miles from top to bottom!

On May 26th (ish), I will set off on a mission to raise awareness of the impact of plastic on our waterways and oceans and promote outdoor and water sports safety.

I'll be supporting environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean – encouraging hundreds of thousands of people to take part in the country’s biggest environmental action campaign and do a million miles of litter-picking between them, as well as Plan B Charity, who promote and advocate outdoor pursuit safety.

Setting off from John O’Groats and paddling down the east coast of Scotland to Inverness, I'll have to brave whatever the North Sea will throw at me before entering the Caledonian Canal, crossing the cold deep waters of Loch Ness and emerging on the west coast at Fort William and continuing south.

From there it will be through the Crinan Canal, followed by the fast tidal flows of the Irish Sea to Liverpool, before entering the inland waterways on the River Dee. Following the canal networks and its many locks to Sharpness, Before joining the River Severn, Britain’s longest river and largest tidal range, onto the Bristol Channel which is well known for its hazardous tide flows and currents.

The final leg will be the rugged north coast of South West England to Land’s End and, after living in a tent for the majority of this 900-mile journey, a proper bed.

Why on earth would I want to put myself through this?

Well, I kayaked when I was young but stopped for about 30 years, taking the sport up again in 2013. I’ve done a number of marathon sea kayaking trips since then and I decided I wanted to do something that brought together my love of the sport with my passion for cleaning beaches and removing the plastic pollution that is having such a huge effect on the condition of our oceans.

I work for Keep Britain Tidy’s Ocean Recovery Project in the South-West, collecting hard plastics found in the marine environment and getting them recycled to give them a new life as things like picnic benches and fence posts. I am also the founder of Clean Jurassic Coast and work with volunteers to clear litter from the 96-mile stretch of coastline that runs from Exmouth in Devon to Studland in Dorset and is England’s only natural UNESCO World Heritage.

I have seen first-hand the damage that litter is doing to our natural environment so I wanted to do something to help get the message out to everyone. Education and inspiration is the only way to stop thoughtless littering. It doesn’t matter if someone drops a cigarette end, leaves their discarded fishing line or fly-tips an entire truckload, these selfish acts are destroying our environment and putting wildlife and marine life in danger on a daily basis.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. Instead of being part of the problem, we can all be part of the solution by doing the right thing with our rubbish, by supporting the Great British Spring Clean and pledging to pick up some litter. Every piece that’s taken out of the environment is one piece less adding to the plastic pollution.

You can follow me on my adventure at www.kayakingforcharity.co.uk where there will be a live tracker and more up to date information, as well as information about Plan B Charity and paddlesport safety.