John O’groats to Land’s End challenge

IN aid of the Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust, a father and his daughter travelled from one end of the UK to the other in a Series I Land Rover.

While the 1200-mile route isn’t what you would call a particularly inspiring adventure or endurance challenge, the pair did it in a 1955 pick-up showing the test of time and a very hard life, not to mention the co-driver – Ben Metcalfe’s sevenyear-old daughter, Hope, helped with the navigating, sharing the cab for up to eight hours during the day. For those who have done any particularly long car trip with kids – even in a modern car with a radio or even DVD player to distract them – will know this is actually a real mission!

Having already completed several desert crossings in a variety of vehicles and been the first Brit to ever complete the Dakar held in Argentina and Peru, Ben has experienced those moments where all seems lost, coupled with sheer exhaustion to the point of hallucination, but this will be a challenge of a different type.

So why did they do it? We ask Ben. “Well personally, it’s to strengthen that magical bond between daddy and daughter. For my daughter it’s to see the natural beauty of our surroundings, to grow in confidence and not be worried by unplanned experiences that will undoubtedly happen along the way, but in a safe environment – to give her lifelong memories! But also, and more importantly in so many ways, we are doing this to raise awareness and money for a very special charity.

As we went to press the duo were on their last day. En route they stopped at Classic Land Rover and Solihull, where they drove the Jungle track. Check out our next issue to see how they got on.