The coast to coast kayak challenge in Scotland is not a trip for the unfit or those unfamiliar with a kayak. It follows the stunning 60 mile route of the Caledonian Canal from Fort William on the North Atlantic coast to Inverness on the North Sea.

The Caledonian Canal is 60 miles long although only one third of it is man made. On route it passes through various towns, beautiful countryside and 4 Lochs including Loch Ness. It is considered by many as one of the greatest waterways in the world.

The Caledonian Canal joins Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy which make up the Great Glen a geological fault in the Earth’s crust. The canal consists of  29 locks, four aqueducts and 10 bridges over its course.

Constructed in the early 19th century by Thomas Telford it was build to provide a quicker and safer route for ships travelling from the north east of Scotland to the south west.  It was completed in 1822 having cost £900,00 and taking just under 20 years to complete.

Unfortunately it was not a commercial success as by the time the Caledonian Canal was completed ship design had improved and the new steamers were too big for the canal. However due to the beautiful scenery it has become a popular tourist destination attracting over a million visitors a year.

The Challenge

The team of 13 plan to complete the 60 miles from Fort William to Inverness in just 3 days during July 2013. It is a kayak trip that normally takes 5 days so they will need to go some to achieve their goal.

The kayakers consist of 7 members of the Newhaven Lifeboat Volunteer Crew and 6 friends of the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution).

Newhaven Lifeboat Volunteer Crew:

Alan Novis, Lee Blacknell, Matt Mather, Dave Lossing, Mark Blakey, Alvaro Rodriguez & Neill Winter.

Friends of the RNLI:

Mark Newman, Paul Newman, James King, Justin Stoner, Ian Stephenson & Dean Giles

The team have come together to raise money for the RNLI and to pay tribute to Gavin Butcher, a volunteer crew member on the Newhaven lifeboat who lost his battle with cancer in late February.

Raise funds for the RNLI

The money raised from the coast to coast kayak challenge in Scotland will go to the RNLI. It will help enable their volunteers to operate 24 hours a day 365 days a year and helping to save lives. You can donate to this worthy cause here: http://www.justgiving.com/teams/caledonian

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never share them with anyone or send you unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. They’ll make sure Gift Aid (an additional 25%) is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer, too. That means more money goes to the charity, faster, with JustGiving.  http://www.justgiving.com/teams/caledonian

So please dig deep and donate to help our team hit their fundraising target.