Mother and daughter from Horsforth and their big adventure

From August 20 Addi Manolopoulou and her 11 year-old daughter, Athina, both from Horsforth, will set off in a home-made canoe, built from scrap wood under the instruction of a boat building expert.

Addi said that it was important not to use fresh raw materials to help conserve limited resources. Planks from a broken bed and disposed skirting boards from a 250 year-old church were used to make the vessel.

Addi added: “We will paddle 120 miles of the Great Glen Way between Fort William and Inverness and back. The elements will test the strength of our character, especially the Scottish summer weather, headwinds and midges.

“Every night, our intrepid team – my daughter, me and the family dog, Little Miss Shadow – will sleep in hammocks strung between trees on the waterside. We will be carrying all our provisions including enough food to last the whole journey, and those all-important mosquito nets to protect against the midges. On a windy day an umbrella will serve as sail and help propel us forward.

“As well as sharing our journey updates on social media, we will also be sharing science information to engage the general public. Experts from the University of Leeds will be answering questions including what invasive species in our waterways look like and what we can all do to help prevent their spread (Check-Clean-Dry). This adventure is part of the tenth Water@Leeds Network Anniversary helping showcase its world-leading research with major impact on our society.

“This is a chance to see the world from the water, to gain perspective, an opportunity to reflect on what is of true value. To ask ourselves how do we protect our environment? While this is an incredible journey for us, we thought it might be an opportunity to raise funds for a charity close to our hearts – Water Aid.

We will live on the water for ten days. However, 785 million people in the world do not have access to clean water close to their home. We would like to raise money to enable Water Aid to dig wells, install toilets and tap stands. See our blog at www.teamAA.co.uk.”