A team of four very extraordinary people are currently undertaking a journey that no one has ever done before in the UK, they are travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats, hang on a minute what’s unusual about that, lots of people have done that I hear you cry. Actually this small team will be doing it in quite a different way, they are travelling in a straight line, so giving them their name – Beeline Britain.

The route will be completed by combining sea kayaking, hand bike/road bike, hiking and a section of mountaineering over the Cairngorms, one of the most exposed mountain ranges in the UK, so it’s not your average route for this journey. The straight line route is only 524 miles compared to the more traditional route of approximately 874 miles, but with the effort of the modes of transport they will be using and the obstacles in their way it will probably take them in excess of two weeks. The aim is between 16 and 18 days.

The team comprises of Ian O’Grady, a serving Air Force Crewman, who just happens to have spend some of his life as a  professional kayaker; Adam Harmer, one of the country’s leading kayak coaches, who has competed in some of the world’s arduous competitions but always has a smile on his face; Nick Beighton, a Captain in the Royal Engineers, who lost both legs above the knee in an IED explosion in Afghanistan in 2009 but who just missed out on a medal in the rowing event in the 2012 Olympics; and the final member on the team is Tori James, who at the tender age of 25 became the youngest UK women to conquer Everest. Quite a team!

The team set out last Sunday and have already completed the first sea crossing by kayak, a mere 124 miles, which has taken a little over 34 hours, with virtually no sleep. What faces them now is a further 18 legs before they finish. The group is aiming to raise over £20,000 for BLESMA, a charity for limbless and blind veterans and is being supported by The Endeavour Fund, so a very worthy cause. Let’s hope they have all the best equipment whether it be outdoor jackets, rucksacks or wetsuits and that all important back-up, so get out and support them, or make a donation.