Kayaker’s ‘surreal’ return to land after 58 days paddling around British coast

A kayaker has described the “surreal” moment he stepped back on land after spending 58 days paddling 2,000 miles around the British coast.

Mike Lambert, 33, set off on June 1 from East Wittering beach in Chichester for a kayaking challenge which saw him “fighting” against the weather conditions, dealing with “six to eight foot waves side on” and sleeping on beaches around the UK coastline.

The physiotherapist from Walton-on-Thames, north-west Surrey, told the PA news agency how it was “utterly surreal” to finish the challenge which he undertook in memory of his late mother, Caroline Lambert.

“It feels utterly surreal to be finished because there have been times on this trip where I genuinely didn’t think I was ever going to be done,” he said.

“To come in and see friends, family on the beach and be welcomed with so much love has just been incredible.

“To know that I don’t have to get onto the water (on Monday) is just insane.”

After setting off from East Wittering, Mr Lambert kayaked along the south coast towards Penzance, before crossing the Irish Sea, skirting along the coast of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

From there, he travelled around Scotland before finishing in East Wittering on Sunday afternoon.

“I had plenty of hard days, one day in particular that was very bad was up around the west coast of Scotland where I was having six to eight foot waves side on,” he said.

“That was just utterly terrifying if I’m being honest.

“I had lots of days that were like that, taking on very unfavourable conditions in remote areas of the country with the only back-up plan being to call the Coastguard.

“I had more of those days than I would have liked – I think there was even snow in Scotland whilst I was up there.”

Mr Lambert, a former GB under-23 canoe sprinter, was hoping to break a Guinness World Record by kayaking the 2,000-mile distance in less than 40 days but the weather conditions meant he lost out on two weeks at sea.

“The conditions this year have just been unrelenting, fighting against the weather just absolutely hampered my progress,” he said.

“I lost 14 days which were unsafe to be at sea.”

Despite not obtaining a world record, Mr Lambert said there had been “so much (he) had gained” from the trip and he had “plenty of amazing moments”.

“One of them in particular was arriving in Ireland. I didn’t think I was going to make Ireland because of losing days on the sea due to the weather,” he said.

“I set out to cross the Severn Estuary and then the Irish Sea in two days which was about 210 kilometres in total.”

Becoming emotional, he said: “That moment of pulling up onto the Irish coast and seeing my Irish friends on the beach, it was amazing.

“I’m getting emotional just talking about it.”

After losing his land support two weeks before he was due to start due to changes with a sponsor, Mr Lambert said it “turned into a very different trip” than he was anticipating as he had to to camp out on beaches along the way.

“To go from being supported to self-reliant is huge and I had to change everything around my logistics, become as self-sufficient as possible,” he said.

“Most of the time it was just pebbly beaches all around the UK coastline, which aren’t really renowned for providing a restful night’s sleep.”

Mr Lambert used the challenge to raise money for the Aortic Dissection Charitable Trust and Aortic Dissection Awareness UK & Ireland in memory of his late mother.

The NHS district nurse collapsed at a gym from an acute Type A aortic dissection, which is when the main blood vessel from the heart tears.

He said: “This was all for my mum – I actually had no personal interest in the record at all.

“It was the biggest, hardest thing I could comprehend doing to help raise money and awareness in her name.

“The mere fact of doing this has been hugely emotional and because it’s for her, it meant that I would never give up, irrespective of how hard it got.”

Mr Lambert is also raising funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), as he was assisted by the organisation when he was hit by a large wave during stormy conditions off the south coast in 2019.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...