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I use paddling as a way to
watch wildlife, a way to
get fit, a way to get out of
the rat race and into the
wilderness, because to me
it is just the passport to a
whole other world.
The DW is a very achievable goal even to someone
who has never paddled before and it’s growing year
by year. It has a little bit of everything, you get tears,
sweat, blood, frustration; the feeling that you just
cannot carry on and finish, and then absolute elation
when you cross the line. It’s one of the greatest
endurance events in the world and it’s right here in
tame old England.
Let’s go right back to the beginning, how
did you first ever get into paddling?
Some of my biggest and most treasured expeditions
have been in a kayak - making the first descent of
white water rivers in the Himalayas, and being able to
You have 24 hours to go on an ultimate
paddling adventure, where would you go?
I would go back to Bhutan, I was lucky enough to be
on the first ever descent of this ridiculously stunning
white water river. It was challenging and exciting, and
staggeringly beautiful. We were paddling into gorges
with precipitous rock faces on either side knowing we
were the first people ever to go there. I will always
treasure that and would go back in a heartbeat.
You’ve mentioned a few of your most
treasured expeditions, is there anywhere
on your paddling bucket list you haven’t
visited yet?
There really is! After doing the DW with Helen we
got talking and started thinking about other paddling
races we could do. There’s the Dusi in South Africa
that we would love to do, but because it’s got quite a
lot of white water in a tippy boat we would need to
do a lot of training, but it’s definitely on our wish list.
The Yukon 1000 is the biggie, that’s the monster race
and we would love to go and do that too.
>>
I have photos of me aged six canoeing for the first
time but I didn’t really get into it until I was about 11
or 12-years-old in the Scouts. I started paddling to get
my Duke of Edinburgh Award so I did all of my first
expeditions in a kayak. Through scouting I acquired
all the skills you need to do a reasonable white water
expedition, and still use all of those skills - even now!
do big crossings and circumnavigations in a sea kayak.
It’s something I hope to be doing until I’m in my 90’s.
Your most recent paddling challenge
was the Devizes to Westminster race,
which you took on with your wife Helen to
raise money for charity, how would you
describe that experience?
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