This is the story of four men in a boat and a tandem rickshaw…and then another boat! Of an iconic, world first challenge…on home soil.
What is the South North Adventure?
It’s a WORLD FIRST: the inaugural journey from the TRUE SOUTH TO THE TRUE NORTH OF THE BRITISH ISLES. Forget Land’s End to John O’Groats! The southernmost point of the British Isles are the islands of Les Minquiers, south of Jersey, just off the French coast, while the northernmost point is Out Stack, a small island off the northern tip of Shetland, halfway to Norway.
Milage
Traversing about 1,500 miles, the team will row (in an ocean rowing boat) 700 miles (from Les Minquiers to Portsmouth, via Jersey, and then from Scrabster, in the north of Scotland, to Out Stack) and in the interim cycle 800 miles on land (on their custom-made tandem- rickshaw) from Portsmouth Harbour to Scrabster.
Why?
To celebrate children’s mental health & resilience. KIDS ARE OUR FUTURE – SO LET’S GIVE THEM A GOOD ONE! The South North Adventure was selected as one of the chosen causes in Givestar’s ‘Adventures for the Good’ competition. We will have ‘meet & greets’ throughout the journey with our 10 charitable partners and their celebrity patrons. The dates, charitable partners, and their patrons, are as follows:
Confirmed Dates:
Ocean Row from Les Minquiers, via Jersey, to Portsmouth – 10/11 April 2026
Every Child our Future – Peter James – Jersey – 9 or 10 April 2026
1851 Trust – Sir Ben Ainsley – Portsmouth – 19 or 20 April 2026
Women in Sport - Brian Moore – West London -22 April 2026
The Big Kid Foundation - Michel Roux – Central London -23 April 2026
Heavy Metal Truants – Bruce Dickinson (from Iron Maiden) - Central London (or he will hop on the boat or tandem-rickshaw at another point during the adventure) - 23 April 2026.
Guide Dogs (for Blind Young People - Susie Dent – Oxford - 24 April 2026
Jessie May - Rob Walker – Sheffield (during world snooker championship - several players will get involved) - 27 or 28 April 2026
Brownlee Foundation – Alistair & Jonny Brownlee – Yorkshire - 29 April 2026
MQ – Edinburgh (several mental health researchers) - 4 May 2026
Bikeability – Countrywide (Ed Clancy & other elite cyclists)
Leave Scrabster in ocean rowing boat – 12 or 13 May 2026
Land on Out Stack – 22 May 2026! (On Out Stack, the team will celebrate with a Beef Bourguignon, specially prepared by Michel Roux, in full black tie…naturally!)
All our chosen charities are focused on helping young people build resilience and improve their mental health in one way or another. Children from the charities & their celebrity patrons will cycle with the team at different points throughout their journey.
Through our ‘Givestar’ fundraising page, the team want to raise as many funds as possible, which will be divided equally among our wonderful charity partners.
Many others, including Dame Rachel De Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, and several stars from sporting and music worlds have also pledged their support and will join the team for part of the journey. Snooker legend RONNIE O’SULLIVAN, for example, has called it: “A 147. The maximum!” Rowing legend SIR MATT PINSENT describes it as: “Totally bonkers – 2K was enough for me!”
Who’s the Team?
The South North Adventure was conceived by author and psychologist, Professor Kevin Dutton. On a previous expedition, The Metro Marathon Challenge, he had been inspired and encouraged by a young girl with cancer, who said she always followed the advice of her teddy-bear to take each day, and chemo session, at a time.
That helped Kevin and his teammate, GB rower John Collins, through the Metro Marathon Challenge in which they ran to every Underground station on the London Tube before completing the London Marathon in 2021 to raise funds for young homeless people in London.
Kevin is passionate about celebrating resilience and a ‘can-do’ attitude in young people. He’s now put together a team of like-minded people to take on the epic challenge of the TRUE south north of the UK. Experienced ocean rowers, Billy Taylor and Gary Hutchings, along with bookshop owner Patrick Neale will join Kevin to form the South-North Team. Together they will take on this momentous world-first, to raise funds for our amazing charities and to celebrate the psychological strengths and resilience of our young people in this challenging time for our nation. You can see more here:
Raising for
Donation Summary
£1,250
raised of £100,000
