andrew milne
Andy Milne/Andy Jarret Ben Nevis to Inverness
Fundraising for Forces Children's Trust
Story
SUMMIT2SEA part 2 BEN NEVIS TO INVERNESS NON STOP
66miles By Boot Bike and Kayak
Raising money for the FORCES CHILDRENS TRUST
On the 18th/19th of June 2011- ANDY JARRET and ANDY MILNE will ascend UK,s highest point and camp out at the summit, at first light will then set off on a quick yomp down to Fort William (approx 6 miles)- where we will hop on our bikes for a 32mile ride up to Fort Augustus. After a quick stop we will then jump into our x2 man Kayak to paddle our way up the full length of Loch Ness to Inverness - where we will finish the event of approx 70 miles in around 15 hrs.......non stop!
If your wondering why part 2 ?- we did a similar event last year for Help For Heroes https://www.bmycharity.com/V2/summit2sea
BUT- this is tougher !
Charities this year are for Children , children whom have lost Mother/Fathers serving in British Armed forces
.And
45 Royal Marines Commando Arbroath remembrance garden for fallen marines . http://www.facebook.com/pages/45-Commando-Woodlands-Garden-Trust/137843916229679?ref=sgm
Both worthy causes which i hope you will all support us in our efforts to raise as much as we can .
Training for this event begins with a "Stravaig" to blow the New years celebrations cobwebs away and continue for near six months.Focusing on Hillwalking, cycling, swimming,and kettlebells training , the programme will take us to
Italy- for skiing........... and probably beer/whisky
Norwegian mountains/Fjords -for winter walking/kayaking..........and probably beer/whisky
Scottish Hills /lochs - for walking /rough camping and kayaking...and probably beer/whisky
SPONSORS THIS YEAR
58Sqn RAF REGIMENT LEUCHARS
Jackie Davis Kettlebells training Arbroath
Oilcareers.com
So after near 6 months of training weekly kettlebell sessions, sunday after sunday mornings out cycling and hundreds of lengths swimming our weekend was upon us. Here,s how it went
After giving up on finding a reliable weather forecast we met up at Fort Augustus to leave my car/kayak "in position"- a quick drive down to Fort William and the base of the Big Ben and we set off(later than scheduled) at 7.30pm ! Original plan was a quick walk up to summit with overnight gear - then pitch camp at a suitable spot down from summit.However the weather was pretty bad, low cloud , very very wet and damp.We arrived at the summit in fading light at 10.45pm !- taking a little over 3hrs! a quick photoshoot and we were off back down- now in total darkness ,this slowed us up considerably.Looking out for a spot for the tents proved impossible as the ground was either rocky,at 45 deg,or waterlogged.
This left us no real alternative but to walk all the way back down which was not in the original plan and was extremely fatiguing with the darkness, poor underfoot conditions and the rain/fog and all our kit.We finally made it back to the car park at 02.30am after 7hrs and 7 miles later- totally knackered - where we had to pitch our wee tents in a swarm of midges that had found us. After a few of hours of "rest" a darn cuckoo broke the silence and never gave it a rest from them- so it was an early rise to a quick ration pack /energy bar breakfast- changed into our cycling gear, pulled the bikes off the back of Andy,s van and we set off just before 8am on a lovely sunday morning.
The route took us up along the Great Glen way with some stunning views across the valley and lochs all the way through the trees and alongside the amazing Caledonian canal- till we reached Fort Augustus a little under 4 hrs and 32 miles later...........then came the hard bit We were both keen to take advantage of the surprising calm water/wind conditions- so were quickly in our wetsuits and on the water for midday and heading up Loch Ness.
We took the east shoreline and paddled straight up to Foyers where we arrived at 4pm making an average of near 4mph- and were met by Andy,s father/brother who laid on tea and a sandwich.
With no real desire to be on the loch when it was dark we didnt stop long - before we head off on the final stretch up to Dores on the Northern edge of the loch , passing Urquhart castle and slowly ( very slowly ) seeing the treeline at Dores get closer.It was a long , long hard slog but at just before 8pm on sunday night we ran the kayak aground at Dores and completed our challenge
AND- in the words of Captain Jack Sparrow " i hope everybody just saw what i just did there?.......good!, cos i wont be doing it again "
Many thanks to all whom helped/sponsored and supported us raise money for THE FORCES CHILDRENS TRUST
Andy Milne & Andy Jarret