THE southernmost point of the British Isles is serving as the launch pad for a 1,000-mile journey to the opposite extreme.
Members of a four-man team have been mustering in Jersey this week ahead of a marathon trip over sea and land that is set to conclude on a rocky outcrop in the Shetland Islands in late May.
First mooted in 2024 but postponed until this year for a range of logistical and meteorological reasons, the True South North Adventure will see the team set off from the Minquiers this weekend.
The route will see the team row the ten-mile stretch to St Helier before making their way on foot to Jersey’s north coast returning to the sea at Bonne Nuit to row across the English Channel to Portsmouth.
A tandem rickshaw will then take the team across the entire length of England and Scotland ahead of the final stretch back on the oars from the north-east coast of Scotland to Out Stack in the Shetlands.
Psychologist and adventurer Professor Kevin Dutton is leading the expedition and will be joined by one novice rower – bookshop owner Patrick Neale – and two seasoned oarsmen, Billy Taylor and Gary Hutchings.
Mr Taylor’s CV includes crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, with an Indian Ocean voyage between western Australia and east Africa his next ambition, while Mr Hutchings rowed across the Atlantic last year in a boat named Polly Anne which will also be used for the two longest sea legs of the South North journey.
Professor Dutton is candid about his lack of rowing experience, joking that he once paddled across the Serpentine lake in London’s Hyde Park in a small boat. But the academic adventurer brings some important qualities to the mission, including an infectious enthusiasm and a contacts book bulging with celebrity phone numbers, and he admitted there’ll be a sense of relief when the challenge gets underway.
“Reaching the finish line is one thing, but what I’ve learned from people who’ve done trips like this is that getting to the start line is the hardest thing of all,” he said.
“It’s taken two years to get to this point and there’s been so many things to get sorted, so it’ll be good to finally get going.”
The team has set a lofty target of raising £500,000 for ten different charities all with a connection to children’s mental health. There’s a Jersey-based good cause included on the list, with author Peter James – one of many of the team leader’s “speed dial” contacts – having recommended Every Child Our Future.
A zig-zag route across England and Scotland, which will mean stretching the ground covered to around 50% beyond the 1,000-mile straight-line distance, incorporates a range of media opportunities along the way with celebs like the chef Michel Roux, heavy metal rocker Bruce Dickinson and sports stars like Matt Pinsent, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Sir Ben Ainslie and the Brownlee brothers.
“We live in a celebrity-driven world, and celebrities bring high visibility to this stuff, so we’re going to use that profile to raise as much money as we can for the ten charities,” Professor Dutton said.
More information on the challenge, including a link for online donations, is available at southnorthadventures.com
‘True’ challenge starts at the Minquiers
- The distance from St Helier to Out Stack in the Shetland Islands is 998 miles, according to Google Maps, with the opening leg from the Minquiers adding another ten miles to the journey.
- The True North South Adventure is an extreme/extended version of the “traditional” route across the UK mainland from Land’s End to John O’Groats, which measures 603 miles in a straight line, and has a shortest road connection of 874 miles.
