Adventurer to kayak across the British Isles

Jim Mee from York has travelled to more than 86 countries and hopes to reach 100

An explorer plans to kayak the width of the British Isles in a challenge he has described as "never before attempted".

Jim Mee, from North Yorkshire, will leave the Humber Estuary and use rivers, canals and sea routes to travel approximately 550 miles (885km) to the west coast of Ireland.

Mr Mee is no stranger to adventure, having previously crossed a 100-mile (160km) frozen lake in Mongolia and cycled coast to coast across the Andes.

He said: "Life's about adventure, so let's go and have one."

The route will see Mr Mee kayak across England, coming out of the Mersey at Liverpool, taking in the coast of north Wales before crossing the Irish Sea and using the canal network to reach his finish line on the River Shannon.

"I'm going to go through many places I have an affinity with but it's going to be between 40 and 50 miles (64km to 80km) of paddling a day for at least two weeks" he said.

"Sometimes it's good to challenge yourself."

"Thankfully there's a few pubs on the way across the Leeds and Liverpool canal."

He described the Irish Sea stretch as a "pretty brutal" challenge with a lot of unknowns, but he added that this was "the very essence of adventure".

The explorer will also raise money for Children with Cancer UK as part of his challenge.

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