Tag: 2017 Grant
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Paddle Boarding Lough Neagh
The 2020 Next Challenge Grant opened for applications today. And to the mark the occasion, we have a story from 2017 grant winner Joanne McCallum, who took a paddle board across Lough Neagh. One of the great things about Jo’s trip is that she managed to fit it around life and work by spreading out…
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Running a Marathon at Marathon (in full Greek garb)
Grant winner Joshua Powell describes his attempt to run a marathon at Marathon dressed as a Greek soldier. Running a Marathon at Marathon by Joshua Powell It was October 2016 and I was approaching the end of English Heritage’s ‘1066 March’, marking the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. We had traced…
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Cycling to the Most Northerly Inhabited Part of the UK to Perform a One Woman Mythological Opera in a Lighthouse
Without doubt, this is the best title I have ever had on my blog. When I read it on the application form for my grant, I knew I had to support it. In fact, it’s such a good title that I don’t think I really need to offer any more explanation (even if I were…
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Running from Italy to England
Six years ago, Dan Keeley was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and experienced a dangerous manic episode whilst in Rome. Six months ago, he went back to Rome to exorcise his demons, which he did in remarkable style by running over one thousand miles back home. Here’s Dan’s story… [one_sixth]–[/one_sixth][two_third][box] The Next Challenge Grant Dan’s trip…
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A Miniature Scottish Triathlon
Brothers Ed and Richard dreamed of undertaking an epic expedition, conspiring in the pub to complete a massive triathlon right the way across Scotland. When they woke up the next day, however, they remembered that they had jobs and lives and families, and couldn’t just disappear for weeks on end. But that didn’t put them…
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Running Up Every ‘Munro’ Mountain in Scotland
At the end of last year, two women achieved a remarkable feat: they ran up 282 mountains, back-to-back over 77 days, running more than 1,000 miles on the way. Libby and Lisa were the biggest winners in last year’s Next Challenge Grant, getting an award of £600. Their challenge was to climb all of the…
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Bikepacking Anadalusia
Megan Cumberlidge’s photos have made me very jealous. She won a Next Challenge Grant and recently took her mountain bike to Andalusia, Spain. Her grant was only small – £50 – because the main thing she asked for in her application was kit. Specifically, she needed bikepacking bags. I have two full sets of bikepacking…
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Walking 600km Along Japan’s Tsunami-Affected Coastline
In 2011, an earthquake and tsunami hit the east coast of Japan and devastated much of its coastline. A huge effort has been made to repair and rebuild in the years since the disaster and part of that effort included the creation of a brand new walking route. The Michinoku Coastal Trail runs the along…
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Walking the Western Ghats with 4-Year-Old Twins
By far our youngest grant winners to date, Dyuthi and Druthi (4), have recently returned from a short walk in the Western Ghats, India. They went with their dad, Guru, and cousin, Adithi (8). [one_sixth]–[/one_sixth][two_third][box] The Next Challenge Grant Guru’s family hike was part funded by a Next Challenge Grant, an annual bursary for aspiring…
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Walking the Tendrivska Spit
While I read through all of the wonderful applications we’ve received for this year’s Next Challenge Grant, previous years’ winners are out there doing their things. Today, we have a report from an expedition in Ukraine. The Next Challenge Grant is open to people of all nationalities, wherever they live in the world. Most winners…
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Running the Three Peaks
Next Challenge Grant winner Tina Page has just run the British Three Peaks: Snowden, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis. She didn’t just run up them, she ran between them too: 500 miles in total. And, to cap it all off, she only started running three years ago. That fact somehow makes her feat seem both…
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Walking 400 miles along Japan’s tsunami-affected coastline
Two weeks ago, we waved off the first two winners of the 2017 Next Challenge Grant: Libby and Lisa set off run and cycle up every Munro in Scotland. They’ve already ticked off 31 mountains and you can follow the rest of their progress on Twitter. This week another adventure begins: Robin Lewis, who won…