Photo Gallery - our pictorial timeline


26 August. The last four miles! Tamar Bridge to Bere Ferrers.
The complete circumnavigation.
Total number of days: 143. Paddling days: 98.
Estimated total distance: 2,466 miles (not including tidal drift).
Click the image for a detailed interactive map.

26 August. Spot satellite track of our final day, Ayrmer Cove to Bere Ferrers Quay.

26 August. Bere Ferrers Quay. Our very last landing!
Click photo for Video.
26 August. Bere Ferrers Quay. A flare to celebrate.
Click photo for Video.

26 August. Bere Ferrers here we come! Click photo for Video.
26 August. Bere Ferrers Quay. Our welcoming party.

26 August. Bere Ferrers Quay. Friends and family awaiting our arrival.
More Photos from our Home-coming at Bere Ferrers Quay available by clicking here...

26 August. The Men's Gig team escorting us up The Tamar.
26 August. The Ladies Gig Team greet us at Tamar Bridge.

26 August. Enjoying some bubbly with family and friends at Saltash.
26 August. We're joined by Tempus Fugit in Plymouth Sound.

26 August. Our final day. Alice, Jez and friends sailed out especially to meet and congratulate us near the mouth of the River Yealm.
25 August. Ayrmer Cove. It was a beautiful evening and after setting up camp and eating our final dehydrated meal of the trip we walked up the valley to the pretty village of Ringmore for a quiet celebratory pint together.

25 August. Ayrmer Cove - our final camp spot. We've camped here before so knew it was a lovely spot. A cloudy day on the water, paddling away lost in our own thoughts about the final hours of the expedition and what tomorrow would bring. For a change we met loads of paddlers out on the water and enjoyed telling them we'd come from Plymouth ... the long way round!!.
25 August. Arriving at Ayrmer Cove, near Bigbury-on-Sea.

25 August. Leaving Brixham Harbour. Photo: Rob Tew.
25 August. About to leave Brixham Harbour. Photo: Rob Tew.

24 August. Rob and Bev's Culinaria Bakery in Brixham where we are currently having a lovely stay for the final rest day of our trip. Thanks Rob, Bev and Rob's mum Helen.
23 August. Brixham Harbour. Time for a bit of cake.

23 August. Meeting up with Rob at Hope's Nose. Rob circumnavigated Britain earlier this summer from Brixham with Rachel, finishing on 12 August. www.360kayak.com
22 August. Dawlish, Devon. Our camp spot at Horse Cove.

22 August. Leaving Seatown with a wave from some happy early-morning swimmers.
21 August. Seatown, Dorset - Golden Cap Campsite. Click on the photo to hear their BBC Radio Devon interview.

20 August. Our camp spot at Ringstead Bay. A relaxed day enjoying the Dorset coast and catching up with some washing.
20 Aug. Ammonite (Aulacostephanus) on the Kimmeridge Ledges.

20 August. A short break at Gad Cliff.
19 August. Chapman's Pool at the end of a fantastic day on our return to camp from a visit to The Square and Compass Inn.

19 August. Our landing spot at Chapman's Pool.
19 August. Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks. We've finally got in a good day's paddle again with the help of some super Solent tides and a bit less wind. After launching, we paddled to Yarmouth against the last of the tide and as it turned in our favour we headed across to Hurst Castle. From there we set out across towards Hengistbury Head but stayed well out in the favourable tide and carried on to Old Harry Rocks and Durlston Head where we hit double (one before and one after the head), bumpy tide race due to the wind against tide conditions. It was only lunchtime and we had tide with us until 3pm - a race to get around St Albans head before it turned against us and we just managed it luckily, as the NW wind had strengthened to f4 by then. Pleased to pull into the shelter of Chapman's Pool after 7 hours solid on the water to make the most of the tide.

18 August. Paddy, Dave's paragliding instructor visited us tonight.
18 August. Landslipped trees on Bouldnor Beach, Isle of Wight.

18 August. Bouldnor Beach. Tonight's freshly-caught dinner!
18 August. Bouldnor Beach, Isle of Wight. A chance to dry out!

18 August. A lovely morning at our camp spot at Osborne Bay.
17 August. Our sheltered woodland camp at Osborne Bay on the Isle of Wight after early crossing from Selsey Bill ahead of the weather coming in.

15 August. Selsey. Andy sinks an RNLI pint.
15 August. Selsey. A nice swim with Bryony.

15 August. Selsey. Hopefully the last repair!
14 August. Selsey. Thanks to Dave & Pam for gettting us emergency fibreglass repair kit and coming down to see us from Reading. Very fortunate timing!


14 August. Selsey - West Sussex. Andy and upturned boat ready for another repair - poor Persey. Our very early start at 4am this morning paid off and we have been able to make a reasonable day's progress again, passing Brighton in the dark, then Worthing and Bognor Regis. Another shingle beach to camp on. Sadly we have discovered the poor hull needs another repair as the middle hatch has taken on a lot of water today.

13 August. Saltdean. Waiting for the wind and tide to work with us. We are going for a 3am start tomorrow to try and make some ground.
13 August. Passing Beachy Head.

13 August. An early morning start from Eastbourne.
13 August. An early morning start from Eastbourne.

10 August. Meeting up with Nick & Fleur at Camber, East Sussex.
9 August. After 5 hours battling into a strong headwind we've arrived at St. Margaret's near Dover. On the water by 7am meant we could at least take some help from the tide and also have an early finish to recover from the last couple of days.

9 August. An early morning start from Margate Yacht Club where we stayed last night.
8 August. SPOT Satellite track of the crossing of the Thames Estuary between Walton-on-the-Naze and Margate. The locations on the track are at 10-minute intervals. 32 miles, 8 hours.

8 August. A passing wind farm. One of the many off-shore wind farms in the Thames Estuary.
8 August. Walton-on-the-Naze. Free drinks from these friendly chaps this morning before our crossing.

7 August. Walton-on-the-Naze Lifeboat Station. Our home for tonight and our staging post before crossing the Thames Estuary.
6 August. Sunset at Orford Ness.

6 August. Sea-urchin shells from the beach at Orford Ness.
6 August. Cooking on the Storm Kettle base, another free-fuel dinner!

6 August. A storm-kettle brew-up on Orford Ness.
6 August. Our camp on Orford Ness.

6 August. Orford Ness. An early start and early finish to work with the tide.
3 August. Our welcome party at Lowestoft - Nicky Sellers & family. Another good day on the water with great tide this afternoon. Big tide race on the approach to Lowestoft.

2 August. Mundesley. A flattish ledge to kip on after a long day.
2 August. Lunch time at a Norfolk sand-bar.

1 August. Sea-holly (Eryngium maritimum) at Holme next the Sea.
1 August. Jane's lucky find whilst crossing The Wash.

1 August. Holme next the Sea, Norfolk. Our wind-swept sandy beach after crossing The Wash. Found a nice pub though and think we deserve our nice first pint of Norfolk Ale!
1 August. SPOT satellite track of the crossing of The Wash between Seacroft, Lincolnshire and Holme next the Sea, Norfolk. One of our shorter but most interesting crossings today. Wind f2 when we set out and f5 by the other side!

1 August. Passing Skegness. Don't think we will stop here!
31 July. Anderby Creek, Lincolnshire. We found a nice pitch behind the dunes! Lots of rain today and a head wind so quite tired now.

30 July. Spurn Head - after a 40-mile paddle from Fraisthorpe. The Humber Lifeboat crew brought us up the beach by trailer after arriving at low water.
29 July. Our camp spot at Fraisthorpe Sands, south of Bridlington. Cereal for breakfast tomorrow!

29 July. Scalby Ness. Good morning. Sunshine breakfast.
28 July. Scalby Ness. Cooking up some dinner just north of Scarborough. Our Wedding Anniversary!

28 July. Our landing beach at Scalby Ness.
28 July. Scalby Ness. Andy leads Persey into the beach. A challenging paddle today. we started the day with a good f4/5 behind us (unexpected) which gradually swung round to the west and then sw for most of the afternoon. Whitby was crazily busy with people when we had a short break late am. A bumpy, wet crossing of Robin Hood's Bay then great cliffs and ledges all the way to Scarborough with very limited landing options.

28 July. Leaving Runswick Bay.

28 July. Runswick Bay. Launching.
28 July. Runswick Bay. A cuddle before we go.

28 July. Runswick Bay. Almost ready to leave.
28 July. Runswick Bay. Packing the gear in the kayak.

27 July. A selection of Jurassic ammonites found by Andy & Jane at Port Mulgrave. Whitby Snakestones

27 July. A small seam of Whitby Jet at Port Mulgrave.
27 July. Andy searching for ammonites at Port Mulgrave. The cave in the cliff is a small mine for extracting Whitby Jet.

26 July. Fibre-glass repairs to the damaged and leaking hull.
26 July. The barn at Bottom House Farm doubling as a boatyard.

25 July. A pint with Mum at Ye Dolphin, Robin Hood's Bay.
25 July. Seafood Platter at Ye Dolphin, Robin Hood's Bay.

25 July. Back at Chapel Street already? Well, actually, a night out in Robin Hood's Bay!
25 July. All loaded up with Dad at Runswick to go to Bottom House Farm B&B for a couple of days off and essential kayak repairs.

25 July. Arrival at Runswick Bay, North Yorkshire.
24 July. Seaton Sands, Seaton Carew at the mouth of the Tees, County Durham. A 12 hour day!

24 July. On the way to Seaton Sands. The Life Guards at Whitley Bay.
23 July. Our camp spot at Lyne Sands, Lynemouth. Good day today. Paddled with Ollie for first hour, had good vew of Dunstanbugh Castle and lots of sand dunes!

22 July. Beadnell, Northumberland - our overnight stay tonight.
21 July. Enjoying a lovely curry with Judy at Berwick-upon-Tweed Youth Hostel.

22 July. Paddlers from Coquet Canoe Club at Berwick Sailing Club where we were allowed to store the kayak safely overnight.

21 July. Back in England now, at Berwick-upon-Tweed Sailing Club with Ollie who let us in. Staying at the local Youth Hostel tonight with Judy.
19 July. Dry dock at Edinburgh - Jane with her relatives Alice & Freya (cousins), Peter (uncle), Judy (mother) and Linda (aunt).

19 July. Hail the Hales at Dunbar Harbour - Jane with her cousins (Julia, Chris & Reuben).
19 July. Approach to Dunbar Harbour - Castle at the entrance.

19 July. Scoughall - our landing and lunch spot in East Lothian.
19 July. Bass Rock. The world's biggest Gannet colony.

19 July. Gannets on Bass Rock.
19 July. Friendly Puffins near the Isle of May.

19 July. The Isle of May, half-way across the Firth of Forth.
19 July. SPOT Satellite track of our 5-hour crossing of the Firth of Forth, taking in the Isle of May and Bass Rock.

18 July. A hot afternoon at Fife Ness.
18 July. On the way to Fife Ness.

18 July. The two Andy Mortons!
18 July. Joined by Andy Morton Mk II near St.Andrews.

17 July. Boddin Point with old lime kilns. A mid-morning break on the way to Auchmithie. Very pretty bay protected from headwinds. Our fourth day of headwinds in a row and getting a bit tired of it!
16 July. Milton of Mathers. We landed near the campsite where Judy was staying and the campsite kindly allowed us to stay for free!

15 July. Our welcome party at Stonehaven - Andy with Pete & Lynne, and Judy, Jane's mother.
15 July. Pete & Lynne seeing us off at Collieston Harbour.

14 July. Collieston. Lovely paddle today. Wind dropped off and sun came out this afternoon. Back to Pete and Lynne's in Aberdeen tonight. Pete paddled out to meet us again. 11 mackerel caught in 10 mins!! (All shared around and the rest for a bbq tonight).
14 July. Part of our catch today.

14 July. Friendly paddlers, Graeme & Andy, joined us for a while.
13 July. Enjoying a lovely meal, at a table, with Pete and Lynne.

13 July. Peterhead Harbour - our final kayaking destination today. Lots of seals and sand dunes on the way here. Staying with Pete & Lynne Harrison in Aberdeen tonight.
13 July. Careless parking at Cairnbulg Point.

11 July. Our colourful camp near Pennan. Andy relaxing.
11 July. Our landing beach near Pennan. Good day today and the bird life has been good leading up to here, with a huge Gannet colony on the cliffs just before we got here. Quite hot though.

11 July. Some young enthusiasts at our lunch stop at Banff.
10 July. Our camp spot near Findochty. Risotto for dinner tonight.

9 July. Lossiemouth Watersports Club. Our home for the night.
9 July. Lossiemouth Watersports Club. Our home for the night.

9 July. SPOT Satellite track of the crossing of Moray Firth between Tarbat Ness and Burghead. The locations on the track are at 10-minute intervals.
8 July. Wilkhaven, Tarbat Ness, Moray Firth. Our camp spot at the end of another long day's paddle.

7 July. Dunbeath Bay. Our camp for the night.
7 July. Dunbeath Bay. A great day today. Shot round Duncansby Head and a good 10 miles of east coast with between 2-4 knots of assistance and then came in close and enjoyed the many caves and the bird life.

6 July. John o' Groats. Lovely Shell beach with Duncansby Head in the background.
6 July. Enjoying a second breakfast free of charge at The Cabin @ John o' Groats! Thanks ladies!! :-)

6 July. Our camp site at John o' Groats with the Orkney Isles in the background.
6 July. John o' Groats!

5 July. A full Scottish breakfast at Popeye's, Scrabster.
4 July. Thurso Lifeboat Station, Scrabster. A big thank you to Thurso Lifeboat staff & crew for receiving sent-ahead packages for us and for their kind hospitality.

4 July. Scrabster Harbour, Thurso.
4 July. Safe in Scrabster Harbour, Thurso.

4 July. Downhill strata illusion near Holborn Head.
4 July. Lunch at Reay after a great surf session!

4 July. Dounreay power station.
4 July. Precarious looking north coast stack.

3 July. Farr Bay, Bettyhill, Sutherland. Our cliff-top camp spot.
3 July. Farr Bay, Bettyhill, Sutherland. Boat-inlet at the west side of the bay - very steep stone beach to land on in order to avoid the sandy beach and dunes!

3 July. The sun finally breaks through the cloud on the North coast.
3 July. Guillemots on a sea stack.

2 July. Kearvaig Bay. Long-leaved Sundew devours a fly.
2 July. Gulls flock in Kearvaig Bay as Andy paddles our kit closer to the bothy over the freshwater pond.

2 July. Kearvaig Bothy - a very comfy bothy
2 July. Kearvaig Bothy with Cape Wrath in the background. We're now on the north coast of Scotland! A very interesting surf landing on the beach today!

2 July. Penny and Gerald see us off from Scourie Lodge.
2 July. Guest parking at Scourie Lodge!

1 July. Scourie lodge. Our very comfy accommodation. Many thanks to Heidi & Tim.
1 July. Scourie Bay, Sutherland.

1 July. Point of Stoer poking over the swell.
1 July. Shimmering sea-scape.

30 June. Sheltering from the weather inside main campsite building.
30 June. Port a Bhaigh campsite, Altandhu, near Ullapool & Summer Isles. Highly recommend to paddlers as they have great facilities, and reasonable prices. They even have a small drying room here and it's right by the beach!

29 June. Jane in a hole.
29 June. Sea stacks.

28 June. Chickens on the beach near our camp spot at Big Sand.
27 June. Old fishing station near Big Sand, Loch Gairloch.

27 June. Our camping spot near Big Sand, Loch Gairloch. Looking out towards Longa Island.
27 June. Ready to leave Uags Bothy. Photo: Andreas.

26 June. Uags Bothy, Applecross Peninsula. Our home for tonight.
26 June. Arriving at Uags Bothy, Applecross Peninsula.

26 June. Approaching the Isle of Skye road bridge.
26 June. Jane still likes to get her 5 a day!

26 June. About to leave Armadale, Skye. Photo: Maggie Zerafa.
25 June. Our camp spot at The Bay Pottery, Armadale.

25 June. The Bay Pottery, Armadale, Isle of Skye. Jane with Maggie Zerafa, Potter and Owner of the pottery. Andy & Jane first met Maggie in 2007 during their honeymoon on Skye.
24 June. Our landing beach and camp spot on Muck.

24 June. On the way to Muck.
23 June. Tobermory Distillery - closed on Sundays. :-(

22 June. Our new sailing friends at Tobermory from Trofast, Alchemist Gold and Wild Again.
22 June. Parked at Tobermory Marina, Isle of Mull.

22 June. Our arrival in Tobermory Harbour, Isle of Mull.
21 June. Lochaline, Sound of Mull. Our camp spot.

20 June. Andy battles the legendary Serpent of Jura.
20 June. Glengarris Bothy, Jura. Our home for tonight.

20 June. Glengarris Bothy, Jura. Lovely paddle today reaching 10mph in the Sound of Islay! Red deer galore here and the red-roofed bothy is very cosy.
19 June. Proaig Bothy, Islay. Sampling the single malt after our crossing to Scotland. Just had lovely curry that Mum dehydrated for us. Thanks very much and enjoying the bothy with open fire and glass of wine!

19 June. Our landing beach on Islay, Argyll, Scotland.
18 June. Rathlin Island Harbour, Co. Antrim.

17 June. Sunset at Torr Head, east of Ballycastle.
17 June. Torr Head. Andy with our host for a few days, John Ruston.

16 June. Dinner with John Ruston at Ballyvoy.
16 June. Kayak repairs at Ballyvoy.

16 June. Andy's kayak workshop in John Ruston's garden, Ballyvoy.
15 June. Ballycastle town and harbour, Co. Antrim.

14 June. Port Moon Bothy, Bengore Head. Our overnight stay.
14 June. Bengore Head, Co. Antrim. East of Giant's Causeway.

14 June. Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim.
13 June. Essential planning work! Photo: Justine Curgenven.

13 June. A night away from camp, at Rosatos, Moville! Our last chance to spend our Euros before leaving The Republic?
13 June. Tremore Bay, Co. Donegal. Our overnight camp stop after rounding Malin Head.

12 June. Melmore Head, Co. Donegal. Inquisitive locals.
12 June. Melmore Head, Co. Donegal. Another beautiful beach.

12 June. Melmore Head, Co. Donegal. Our camp spot.
12 June. On the way to Melmore Head from Gola Island.

12 June. About to leave Gola Island. Photo: Aidan O'Scanlon.

11 June. A jolly evening out of the wet with Susan and Aidan in their holiday home on Gola Island.
11 June. Gola Island, Co. Donegal. A nice paddle today and we got in a pretty good mileage too. Lovely cliffs. Headwind and big gusts early on but it calmed off for the afternoon.

10 June. Glen Bay on our rest day. Andy cooking whilst others wait with anticipation! Photo: Justine Curgenven.
10 June. Glen Bay on our rest day. Kayaks and camp on the peninsula in the foreground. Photo: Justine Curgenven.

9 June. Glen Bay, Co. Donegal. Enjoying a meal cooked by someone else after a scorching paddle from Inishmurray. Andy & Jane with kayaking companions Barry, Roger and Justine.
9 June. Glen Bay, Co. Donegal. A lovely paddle today. Very hot now! But not complaining! Going to pub now for some dinner!

8 June. Inishmurray. The 6th century Cashel monastic settlement.
8 June. Inishmurray. The 6th century Cashel monastic settlement.

8 June. Inishmurray, Co. Sligo. The abandoned village.
8 June. Inishmurray. The abandoned village - rhubarb gone wild!

8 June. Inishmurray, Co. Sligo. The abandoned village.
8 June. Inishmurray, Co. Sligo. Our landing bay.

8 June. Inishmurray, Co. Sligo. Our landing beach.
8 June. Inishmurray, Co. Sligo, showing our landing place.

7 June. Our camp in the dunes at Lackan Bay.
7 June. Boats on the beach at Lackan Bay.

7 June. On the water between Portacloy Bay and Lackan Bay.
Click photo to see video.
6 June. Portacloy Bay, Co. Mayo. Felt like a long day today. All a little tired but it was a good one!

5 June. Achill Island, Co. Mayo. Our camp spot at Ship Point. Jane with kayakers Justine, Barry and Roger (out of sight) who are circumnavigating Ireland. We'll probably be with them until we leave Nortern Ireland for Scotland.
5 June. Inishturk Quay. Mary Jo from the island looked after us!

4 June. Inishturk Quay, Co. Mayo, our overnight stop.
4 June. Inishturk Quay, Co. Mayo, our overnight stop.

3 June. Our camp on Mason Island, with our new bovine friends.
3 June. Mason Island. The locals seeing what's new on their beach!

3 June. Mason Island, Connemara. "It's good to be back!" Andy was in this area in the 1990s during three family holidays.
2 June. Gorumna Island, Connemara. A view from near our camp spot.
1 June at Mutton Island: Jane's tribute to Geoff Davis; a true adventurer!
Last week, Geoff Davis passed away suddenly at a small ballooning event. Hot air ballooning, the outdoors and keeping fit were his passions. He was the father of one of my closest friends, Laura Pool, and had very recently been in touch with me in connection with supporting the expedition with anything required as well as venturing out from Co. Cavan well inland in Ireland to come and meet us en route, despite having his broken leg in plaster!
When I was young, I adored Laura and Hannah's Dad, Geoff - he was great fun, always cheerful and enthusiastic. He was extremely sporty and I was already very impressed as a child by his marathon running, ballooning and table tennis skills.
Soon before Laura and I went off to university, I was thrilled to be offered a flight in Geoff's balloon! Laura offered to retrieve us and we took off from behind a pub beer garden somewhere near Aldermaston. I loved the flight but have to admit to being somewhat alarmed by the speed at which Geoff flew us in to land! (I've now learnt that this was probably because the landing field was a pretty tight landing area and the speed reduces bounce.) Shortly after landing I was sent off to find the farmer whose field we'd landed in to seek permission. I set out with another lady who had paid for her flight and had chosen to wear high heels. Shortly after setting out across the field Geoff called out to us "don't look back!" - of course we did, to see a herd of bullocks racing towards us and I was tasked with warding off the keen bullocks while the well-dressed lady threw herself over the hedge at the edge of the field! It was certainly a memorable flight!
When Laura and I went off to separate Universities, I managed to stay abreast of Geoff's adventures. I heard that he'd moved down from Reading to Devon (very close to where Andy and I have now settled). Then I heard that he'd met Carol - a life-loving Irish lady, and the next I heard he'd gone to live in Ireland with her and was continuing to fly his balloons out there.
Although I had no direct contact with him over these years, I was delighted to see Geoff again after such a long time last year at Laura and Oli's wonderful wedding. He hadn't changed a bit and was just so proud and happy. I finally got to meet Carol too. I got lost in one of the dances and ended up trapped in the middle of a circle comprising all the wedding guests which Geoff thought was brilliant!!
Much more recently, having made it safely across to Ireland on our expedition, I made contact with Geoff through Laura in the hope that I might be able to meet up with him further round the coast. I was informed that he lived a long way inland and had also just badly broken his leg during karate training. He was hip to toe in plaster, yet Geoff was really keen to take on the challenge of getting out to the coast to see us! He loved the idea of our expedition. Apparently he had taken to following us quite closely through this website, laid up with the leg in plaster and was keenly drumming up support for us among his equally adventurous friends! I was touched and very impressed that Geoff actually intended to "come and hunt us down" despite his predicament. When I arrived in Co. Cavan the evening before the funeral service on Thursday 30 May, this was evident as I already seemed to be known as 'the canoeing lady' and was welcomed with wide arms! It was wonderful to meet so many of Geoff's friends and relatives. Geoff must have touched the lives of so many and from father of my friend Laura, he certainly became a personal friend too. I spent yesterday paddling along quietly singing Eric Idle's Always look on the bright side of life which so fittingly culminated Geoff's funeral service.

1 June. Mutton Island. Jane's been cleaving the wood this morning while Andy is sewing up the huge rip in the tarp!
31 May. Mutton Island. Hmm, I thought it was going to be just a little fire but look what he's got now!!

31 May. Our camp on Mutton Island.
31 May. A lobster pot on Mutton Island.

31 May. Arrival on Mutton Island. A cup of tea and pasta n pesto.
30 May. Goleen Bay Goat-attack! Our tarp wrecked by our ex-friend, Bill. At least the Atlantic swell has decreased and we hope to get moving again tomorrow.

28 May. Goleen Bay. The Atlantic swell causing us to stay put.
Click photo to see video.
28 May. Carrigaholt Quay where we enjoyed a lovely meal, SE of our camp spot at Goleen Bay.

28 May. Goleen Bay. A helpful roadsign to a nearby fishing spot.
27 May. Goleen Bay. Bill, our resident goat chilling out in our camp.
Click photo to see video.


27 May. Goleen Bay. As we're going to be stuck here for several days by the looks of things, Andy has turned to woodwork. No, it's not pegs! The lack of little twigs in this inlet meant some processing of larger wood was in order (to save our gas).

As I write this a billy goat has just ambled into our camp and has incredible horns! Hope he stays friendly and doesn't eat our kit!!

26 May. Goleen Bay, Co. Clare. Not a bad place to hang out if the weather does not play ball tomorrow! Plenty of wood for a fire too.
25 May. Our camp near Ballymore Point, Brandon Bay.

24 May. The Royal Valentia Hotel - our final overnight stay before leaving Valentia Island. Grateful thanks for a room free of charge.
24 May. Valentia Island Quay.

22 May. Jane, happy with her replacement hat at Knightstown Harbour, Valentia Island. The original hat was lost overboard in the Bristol Channel!
21 May. Our camp spot at Knightstown, Valentia Island.

21 May. Knightstown, Valentia Island.
20 May. Rest day at Lamb's Head. Freshwater pool and suntrap out of the wind for a fresh dip!

20 May. Rest day at Lamb's Head. View from the rocks above our campspot. A taste of the spectacular scenery surrounding us.
20 May. Rest day at Lamb's Head. View from the rocks above our campspot. A taste of the spectacular scenery surrounding us.

19 May. Lamb's Head Quay.
19 May. A drop in the wind today has enabled us to make some particularly good progress. We paddled about 41 miles today, leaving Galley Cove and rounding the very exposed headlands of Mizen Head and Sheep's Head to cross Bantry Bay and land on Bear Island for a lunch stop at Bird Island Bay. We then rounded Dursey Head and crossed the Kenmare estuary to land in Co. Kerry at Lamb's Head in the evening. We've had spectacular scenery and perfect paddling conditions, escorted by Dolphins, and camping with Otters near Lamb's Head Quay at the end of the day. Perhaps our best day yet; it's been like paddling through the Lord or the Rings set! So dramatic, wild, rugged with great cliffs and very few places to land suddenly.

18 May. Galley Cove, Crookhaven.
18 May. Our landing beach at Galley Cove, Crookhaven.

17 May. Cape Clear Island from the air.
17 May. Our lunch spot at Lough Hine on the way to Cape Clear.


16 May. Tonight's Dinner!
16 May. Camping on Rabbit Island near Unionhall. What a lovely spot!

15 May. A Bluebell wood on our walk to the Lifeboat Inn.
15 May. Our camp spot near Courtmacsherry. Within walking distance of the Lifeboat Inn!

14 May. Old Head of Kinsale photographed from the cliffs above our camping spot.
14 May. Passing the entrance to Cork Harbour on the way from Ballycotton to Kinsale.

13 May. Ballycotton Bay and islands at low tide on Andy's Birthday.
12 May. Ballycotton Harbour.

11 May. Our landing spot near Whiting Bay, east of Youghal.
11 May. Leaving Stradbally. Photo: Marilla Colgan. Click photo to see video.

10 May. A visit to Mahon Falls. Photo: Marilla Colgan.
10 May. Wind-bound at Stradbally, staying with Marilla & Seamus.

8 May. Wind-bound at Stradbally Cove. Photo: Marilla Colgan.
8 May. Wind-bound at Stradbally Cove. Photo: Marilla Colgan.

6 May. Stradbally Cove - our streamside camping spot.
6 May. A lunch stop at Newtown Cove, on the way to Stradbally. With Jane's cousin Eleanor, her husband Anthony and their son Callan.

6 May. Meeting new friends on the high seas, between Tramore and Stradbally. Photo: Tony Power

6 May. A lunch stop at Newtown Cove, on the way to Stradbally. With Jane's cousin Eleanor and Eleanor's son Callan.
5 May. Hook Head - our first stop after Kilmore Quay.

5 May. Leaving Kilmore Quay. Photographed by Alan Mahon.
4 May. Forlorn Point early this morning - just off Kilmore Quay.

4 May. Whale Rib - Featured in the Kilmore Quay Memorial Garden in memory of all lives lost at sea.
3 May. Us in front with the the Lifeboat Crew of Kilmore Quay ready to go out on their weekly exercise.

3 May. Enjoying a very restful rest day at Kilmore Quay, with plenty of tea, mending and checking of kit and catching up with diaries. The photo opposite is of Kehoe's Pantry, Sylvia Kehoe's shop, where we were given a free lunch yesterday and are now staying in her house! On the left, is Kate, Sylvia's daughter.

2 May. Our first expedition pint of the Black Stuff, at Kilmore Quay.
2 May. Our arrival at Kilmore Quay, photographed by Eleanor Burnhill.

2 May. Kilmore Quay.
1 May. Our precarious camp spot pitched in darkness on arrival in Ireland, close to Carnsore Point, wedged between cliff edge and barbed wire fence!

1 May. Our landing spot in Ireland, north of Carnsore Point.
1 May. Approach to Ireland about 11hrs into the crossing with the last of the light.


1 May. SPOT Satellite track of the crossing from St. David's to Ireland. The curved trajectory is due to tidal drift. During the first half of the crossing, the tidal current was flowing north-eastward, and during the second half of the crossing, the tide was flowing south-westward. The bearing steered on was 295°, to take account of tidal drift that day and get them to near Carnsore Point on the Irish Coast. The locations on the track are at 10-minute intervals, with just a few missing points. The direct crossing distance is 49.5 miles, but the track travelled by them was 59.2 miles. They were on the water for just over 13 hours continuously. This crossing was one of the main major challenges of the expedition, so if you'd like to encourage them further by donating to one of their charities, and you have not done so already, please consider doing so via the Charities page of their website.

1 May. Off they go to Ireland, with Ramsey Island in the background.
1 May. Ready to go!

1 May. Ready to go!

1 May. A tight turn.
1 May. Preparing to set off for Ireland from St. David's.

1 May. Our two mariners at St. David's.
30 April - Jane's Birthday. The Birthday Girl at St. David's Lifeboat Station.

30 April - Jane's Birthday. Arrived at St. David's Lifeboat Station.
30 April - Jane's Birthday. Persey parked at the Lifeboat Station.

30 April. Puffins on the water next to Skoma Island before crossing St.Bride's Bay to St. David's.
30 April. Taking Tea with the chaps from SMIT International Military Range safety boat - a welcome break after a very early start to clear the ranges before 9am. THANKS CHAPS!

29 April. Pembrokeshire coast from the coast path between Stackpole Quay and Broad Haven.
28 April. Evening light at Broad Haven.


28 April. SPOT Satellite track of the 36-mile crossing from Lundy to Broad Haven. The curved trajectory is not attributable to a visit to the Marisco Tavern the night before, but to tidal drift. During the first third of the crossing, the tide was coming in (flowing eastward), and during the remainder of the crossing, the tide was going out (flowing westward). Before the crossing, Andy computed the bearing to steer on as 355°, to take account of tidal drift that day and get them to Broad Haven on the Pembrokeshire Coast. A good bit of navigating again! The locations on the track are at 10-minute intervals, with just a few missing points.

26 April. The Lundy landing beach with Hartland Point in the background.
26 April. The east coast of Lundy.

25 April.Enjoying a mug of wine at the top of the lighthouse.
25 April. Lundy mist. Not much to see here at the moment but at least there is a good pub on the island!

24 April. Arrival on Lundy in the fog! Could not see Lundy until one third of a mile away!
24 April. SPOT Satellite track of the 17-mile crossing to Lundy. Location 1 is the starting point at Marsland Mouth, Locations 2 onward are at 10-minute intervals.

23 April. The Devon/Cornwall border at Marsland Mouth.
23 April. Andy enjoying trying to put up the tarp!! Maybe I should lend a hand rather than be taking photos!

23 April. Arrival at Marsland Mouth.
22 April. The Youth Hostel at Boscastle - our overnight stay.

21 April. Arrival at Newquay Harbour.
21 April. Parked up and tent pitched in the dinghy park at Newquay.

20 April. St. Ives Lifeboat Station. Our home for the night!
20 April. Arriving at St. Ives Lifeboat Station.

20 April. St. Ives.
20 April. Sundown at St. Ives.

19 April. Arrival at Penberth Cove in late evening.
19 April. Devil's Frying-pan, Cadgwith. Our lunchtime stop.


14 April. A walk to Loe Bar near Porthleven. Dumping surf on the beach showing quite clearly why we're not on the water today! (This is the other side of the Lizard from Coverack.) Click the picture to see video.

12 April. Arrival at Coverack. Weatherbound here until 19 April.
11 April. Our camping spot at Helford Village. Thank you Richard!

11 April. Leaving Falmouth - passing Pendennis Point. Daffodils courtesy of Steve.
11 April. Leaving Falmouth - passing Pendennis Point. I can see why Andy sits at the back!

10 April. Arrival at Falmouth. With Steve Petherick.
11 April. Leaving Falmouth.

10 April. Approaching Falmouth - This felt like a bit of a bonus day to be honest. Looking at the forecast last night we saw the wind was to increase steadily over the course of the morning to up to F6 by afternoon. We did a better job of getting up and away today - up at 6am and off on the water by 8.30am! Again, fearing the worsening conditions we paddled on, only taking a short break in the shelter of Gull Rock - where Jane successfully managed to use her 'She-Wee' on the water for the first time!! We were given a wonderful welcome in Falmouth after 30-odd miles by Steve, Jayne, Dillan, Mike, Simon, Sarah and Maria at the Falmouth Watersports Centre where they quickly arranged for us to store 'Persey' alongside the Falmouth Gigs and we taken back to Steve's for dinner and a lovely, much-needed bath - Thanks Steve and Jayne!

9 April. Approaching Fowey.
9 April. Arrival in Fowey - Just inside the River Fowey we paddled over to the 'Rocket' slip and were welcomed in by friends George and Gwen. We spent a lovely eveing with them talking mainly about the sea and were sent off the following morning with a tub of homemade cakes! Thank you George and Gwen!

9 April. Passing Looe - Looe Island, now owned by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust on the left side of the picture. We set out rather late after breaking camp following two forced rest days immediately after our beautiful launch day. From inside the tent the wind sounded much worse than it actually was, so by the time we got up and realised we could actually go, a huge kit-faff ensued and we started our day's paddling at 10.30am. After this late start we felt we should crack on and stayed on the water until we reached Fowey some 23 miles later by late afternoon. The swell was still wild against the cliffs from last night's gale force winds, however paddling conditions were calm.

7-8 April. Windy stay in Cawsand / Kingsand - this was a lovely place to hang out for a couple of days while waiting for the wind to drop and allow us round Rame Head. Rame Gig Club kindly let us store the boat in their boat shed and we enjoyed setting up camp in the woods near Penlee Point and getting back into the swing of wild camping.

7-8 April. Our first stop, at Cawsand Bay.
6 April. Setting off from Weir Quay.
Photos from the Launch Event...
Photos from Previous Trips and expeditions...

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