10 UK-based expeditions to take on in 2023 and beyond
During the lockdowns, I wanted to start planning endeavours for when they’d completely ended, so I compiled (and in some cases designed) a bunch of UK-based physical challenges that can be completed according to difficulty.
I started off with 5 ideas that soon sprouted and turned into 5 more – so I allocated them a difficulty rating along the lines of medal you’d get for completing them.
Platinum
1. Rowing around the country
At approximately 2000 miles; the route is two thirds of the Atlantic Ocean (c.3000 miles from the Canary Islands to Antigua) and so I don’t think there is anything bigger (that is achievable in the short term) than rowing a loop around most of the UK!
Despite being shorter than the Atlantic, it’s understood to be more challenging due to offshore winds, the world’s third largest whirlpool (Corryvreckan, off the Scottish western isles) and turbulence (such as the Ramsay sound).
A project like this can take still take a number of months to pull together – however there are stories of people doing it as little as a number of weeks. According to the GB row challenge website (a race that starts and ends at Tower bridge in London), the world record is 26 days and 9 hours.
https://www.gbrowchallenge.com/row-around-great-britain
Image kindly taken by Dom Garton
Gold
2. Fastpack the peaks
At 23 miles of walking, the three peaks challenge would make a reasonable charitable endeavour if you drive between the peaks of Scafell Pike, Snowdon and Ben Nevis – however why not redefine it by completing solely by human power?
At 462 miles at the shortest route, it would take more planning – which the internet can easily help you with – however be a considerably more impressive challenge.
If you’ve not heard of fastpacking, you’re not alone! The route guide publisher Ciccerone suggest the concept of fastpacking is a ‘multi-day running trip carrying the bare essentials’.
https://www.threepeakschallenge.uk/national-three-peaks-challenge/route https://www.cicerone.co.uk/what-is-fastpacking
3. Bikepack the Highland Trail 550.
The Highland Trail - a long distance self-supported time-trail route through the Scottish Highlands – is around 550 miles of mountain biking!
‘inspired by events in the US like the Tour Divide and particularly the Colorado Trail Race (CTR)’, this self-directed challenge says ‘There is no entry fee, no prize money, and definitely no support. It is a self-timed Individual Time Trial (ITT). All that is provided is inspiration, a suggested start time, a GPS track file, and a list of completion times.’
Bike Packing is another variation on mountain biking mixed with camping. Like fastpacking, it’s about being flexible to the environment yet also manoeuvrable. You carry what you need so that you can travel by human-power and enjoy the benefits of reflection and introspection.
https://singletrackworld.com/2018/05/stu-taylors-highland-trail-550-ready-get-set/
http://elizadventures.blogspot.com/2017/06/highland-trail-550.html
https://bikepacking.com/event/winter-highland-trail-550-2019/
4. Traverse the South West coast path
The south west coastal path is a 630-mile route from Poole Harbour to Minehead in Somerset! I think this an incredibly impressive achievement however you choose to traverse it!
https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk
Silver
5. Packraft across England. Around 170 miles of paddling AND walking (portaging the locks), this endeavour would start in Avonmouth (being sure to check the tides and have a support vessel if necessary) to the mouth of the River Thames – following the Devizes-to-Westminster canoe race route.
For those that haven’t heard of packrafting, it’s a small, lightweight (c.2.5kg) and packable inflatable boat that can be set up next to a water feature and paddled within 10 minutes. Prices start around £875 for an alpacka raft however you can also make your own for as little as a couple of hundred pounds by buying a pre-cut Ironraft kit.
6. Break the Spine!
Before you panic at such a bad sounding idea, the spine is actually a nickname for the Penine Way; a 268-mile (435km) trail from Edale (located in the Peak District, South East of Manchester) to Kirk Yetholm, a village near Kelso located a mile over the Scottish border.
National Trails suggest that most people walk the length in 16-19 days however in 2019, British athlete Jasmin Paris completed Montane’s Spine Race in a record time of 83 hours!
https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/pennine-way/trail-information/
https://thespinerace.com/spine-race
7. Cross Lake Windermere
At 11 miles in length at its longest point, the lake is more than just your average pool session but still around 20 odd miles shorter than swimming the English Channel!
Being freshwater, it is understood to be harder than swimming in the sea due to you having less buoyancy – so a wetsuit could be worn to increase buoyancy.
https://www.livestrong.com/article/388827-is-swimming-in-salt-water-easier-due-to-higher-density/
https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/things-to-do/water/swimming
https://www.windermereoneway.co.uk/the-event/swimmer/
Bronze
8 Run Hadrian’s wall
The Hadrian's Wall Path is a long-distance footpath in the north of England, which became the 15th National Trail in 2003. It runs for 84 miles (135 km), from Wallsend on the east coast of England to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast.
At over three marathons, this would be a cheeky achievement for even experienced – however, I think it’d be achievable with some decent preparation.
https://www.hadrianswallcountry.co.uk
9 Complete the South Downs way
At just over 100 miles long, it’s conveniently almost the same as 4 consecutive marathons. Starting in the England’s first ever capital city Winchester and ending at the white chalk cliffs of Eastbourne, the SDW has around 12,600ft (3800m) of elevation to increase its difficulty.
https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/south-downs-way/
https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/south-downs-way/
https://centurionrunning.com/races/south-downs-way-100-2020/section/course%20notes
10 Swim and run to the summit of Snowdon
This multi-discipline half marathon starts in Llanberis and involves swimming the length of Llyn Padarn (a bracing 3 kilometres) followed by an 8km run up to the summit of Snowdon carrying all of your gear, food and water. After a quick selfie on the summit you’d return to Llyn Padarn to swim a length in reverse back to your original starting point.
To make it more challenging, you’d pack the right safety gear (and maybe people) and throw in a traverse of Crib Goch to complete the Snowdon traverse.
http://loveswimrun.co.uk/love-swimrun-llanberis/
http://loveswimrun.co.uk/thebigwelshswim/
https://www.cicerone.co.uk/the-snowdon-horseshoe-a-classic-route