Paddlers Assembled!
Team Edge Gets Ready for the Edge to Edge Expedition
The Mega-SUP is ready. The paddlers are assembling. And suddenly, the Edge to Edge Expedition feels very, very real.
On Thursday 10 and Friday 11 September, Edge Group Scotland programme participants and staff will take on our biggest challenge yet: travelling more than 50 miles from Glasgow to Edinburgh along Scotland’s Lowland Canals on one Mega-SUP.
It is an ambitious way to celebrate ten years of Edge Group Scotland – but then, this was never really about choosing the easy option.
50+ Miles | 2 Days | One Mega-SUP
Meet the team behind the challenge
Over the past few weeks, programme participants and staff from across Edge have been preparing to take their place in the expedition.
Some will paddle sections of the route as part of our relay team, while others will play an equally important role in keeping the challenge moving through event support, fundraising, communications, hydration and nutrition, safety roles and plenty of encouragement along the way.
Our programme groups have also been involved in the preparation behind the scenes, from route research and fundraising to planning and event organisation.
Because while paddling more than 50 miles across Scotland is a pretty enormous challenge in itself, the distance is only part of the story.
The expedition is creating opportunities to put teamwork, communication, decision-making, confidence and problem-solving into practice in a challenging real-world setting.
It is a huge team effort – and one that involves far more than the people holding the paddles.
Glasgow to Edinburgh – the hard way
The expedition will begin at Speirs Wharf in Glasgow, following the Lowland Canals east towards Edinburgh.
Rather than one team paddling the entire distance, the challenge will operate as a relay, with paddlers changing at different stages along the route.
And it certainly won’t all be plain paddling.
The Mega-SUP will need to be carried around locks and other sections of the canal that cannot be navigated on the board, adding another dimension to an already substantial challenge.
On the morning of day two, the team will experience one of the highlights of the expedition as the Mega-SUP makes its way through the Falkirk Wheel, before the relay continues towards Edinburgh and the finish line.
By the time Team Edge reaches the end, the Mega-SUP - and a considerable number of arms and shoulders - will have travelled more than 50 miles across Scotland.
Making the expedition possible
What began as one particularly ambitious idea has become possible thanks to the businesses and organisations that have chosen to get behind Team Edge.
The Edge to Edge Expedition is supported by Scottish Canals, with support from LNER, alongside our Expedition Partners nexus24 and Edinburgh Self Storage and Supporting Partners Eskmills and Red Equipment.
Their support has taken many forms, from financial backing and equipment to practical expertise, fundraising, communications and specialist support along the route.
Every organisation involved has helped us move the Edge to Edge Expedition from an idea on a planning board towards the starting line.
You can find out more about the organisations backing Team Edge and why they chose to get involved on our Edge to Edge Partners page.
Why are we doing it?
We have set ourselves a fundraising target of £20,000 towards a third Edge Group Scotland minibus.
For Edge, minibuses are much more than a way of getting from A to B.
They allow our programme groups to access workplaces, volunteering opportunities, travel training, outdoor activities and community-based learning across Edinburgh, East Lothian and beyond.
A third vehicle would reduce the restrictions created by limited transport availability and allow us to create more opportunities for the young adults we support to develop practical skills out in the real world.
That is what all those miles are ultimately for.
Edge Group Scotland is a limited company and specialist social care provider, not a charity, so the backing we receive from businesses, organisations and individuals makes an enormous difference to what we can achieve through this campaign.
More supporters needed
We already have an incredible group of organisations and individuals behind us - but there is still time to help us push the expedition further.
Businesses and organisations can support the Edge to Edge Expedition through financial backing, fundraising, practical assistance, professional services or specialist expertise.
Some deadlines for inclusion on event materials have now passed, but there are still plenty of ways to get involved and support Team Edge.
And you certainly don’t need to be a business to make a difference.
You can donate to our GoFundMe, share the expedition with your network or come along and cheer the team on as we make our way from Glasgow to Edinburgh.
Every donation, every share and every bit of support takes us another step (or perhaps another paddle stroke!) towards that third minibus.
Get behind Team Edge
Now it’s time to see just how far Team Edge can go!