Salopians take on 'experience of a lifetime' in Scottish Islands Peaks Race

Such has been the appeal of one the world’s toughest endurance races, Shrewsbury had not one, but two entries this year for the first time.

The famous mountaineer and sailor, HW Tilman, in whose wake the race is inspired, used to advertise in The Times by writing ‘‘Hand wanted for long voyage in small boat: no pay, no prospects, not much pleasure’. Clearly, L6 Salopians are made of hardy stuff!

As ever, the whole venture depended on the great generosity and competence of volunteers. The boys were skippered by Phil Carroll on his Dehler 32, with Callum Davidson Guild as crew and Oscar Dickins (OS) as the Adult Runner. The girls benefited from the return of skipper Alasdair Darroch (OS) on his Sweden Yachts 390, crew Bob Stones and Mr Griffiths as the Adult Runner. Ed Jutsum kindly took on minibus driving duties, shore support and even included the mighty Mull running leg for good measure.

For the third year in a row, the long drive north saw us crossing the Scottish border in a heatwave. Arriving very late in Oban, midge capital of the world, we eventually passed our kit inspections and headed to bed, praying for more wind in the morning.

At midday on Friday, having brought the boats round to the start line, Will, Dason, Meg and Elizabeth were the Shrewsbury pairs for the sprint start, a hilly 4.5mile ‘sharpener.’ This was proceeded by the mass diving into the dinghies, a mad paddle through forty sailing yachts, to be finally heaved aboard by the cheering crew of Summer Breeze (boys) and Indigo (girls)! Squeezing past the narrow entrance, real wind was spotted up ahead; finally, the yachts could spread out, indeed literally in many cases as the cruising chutes were unleashed in a blaze of colourful glory. Short lulls in the wind provided the chance for our crew to familiarise themselves with the yacht, swallow some sandwiches and drink plenty of water. By the time we hit the sound of Mull, the wind returned for real, and all souls were commanded to sit out on the windward rail as we tacked in glorious sunshine alongside a sea of fellow competitors. Indeed, so fast were the Shrewsbury boats that the boy’s arrival in Salen took them by surprise, taking some time to unleash the dinghy from the stern. The girls had arrived an hour ahead of the boys, somehow managing to all squeeze into the dinghy, including the rucksacks, paddle ashore, master staying dry-shod, only to be faced by the obligatory five-minute kit check. With relief, all teams passed (failure means a long and lonely row out to the anchored yacht to collect the forgotten item…) and both the girls then the boys headed off into still hot evening sun.

Back aboard the boat there was a hive of activity in the galley as on Indigo Bob served up chicken curry to his hungry fellow crew. At this early stage of the race there is little point in resting and so each other’s boats were visited in the evening sun and the sheer splendour of the mountainous backdrop breathed in. Returning ashore to await runners in the fading darkness, enveloped by the usual midge cloud, the mood soared as two by two the adult runners, head torches bobbing, returned from their 23 mile run up Ben More. The Youth Teams take an arguably more glorious circular route of 19 miles over Ben Talaidh and this year the sunset and surrounding scenery was just extraordinary. However, it was now 11pm and truly dark; it was therefore some relief that the shout ‘runners’ came through the murkiness and the heroes of the hour, first Alex and Jamie looking still fresh despite a record Shrewsbury time, then 45mins later, Bella, Kitty and Katie singing along with joy, unscathed from their odyssey. Using head torches to identify themselves, the paddling runners were soon collected by the yachts, no doubt delighted to be embraced by cheering comrades, a hot curry and later, the extraordinary sight of the northern lights.

It was now a long sail through the night in very light airs. Stemmed by the tide at Castle Duart, it became obvious by the morning that a Sunday night completion would never be possible without the engine. Reluctantly, the button was pressed on both boats, allowing us to enjoy the sights in relative comfort including the infamous Corryvreckan, George Orwell’s hideaway (Barnhill) and finally the Mordor like Paps of Jura, our next running target.

At 3pm and 4pm respectively on Saturday, Craighouse was upon us. Now it was the turn of Dason and Eugene, followed by Lily and Millie to pass the kit check, pound along the turquoise bay and then leave all sense of civilisation behind by taking to the bogs, boulders, adders (we saw one!) and tics that are the trademarks of a run on Jura! The tough terrain made it slow going, with ample time to take in the epic sights that enveloped us. Ashore, the rest of the crew went swimming, visited the local store and even the (closed down) distillery. Meanwhile the descent off the final Pap is truly hazardous (no paths on this run), the two teams arriving bruised and battered onto the tiny tarmac road and the eagerly awaiting yachts.

Setting off once more, we bobbed on a flat, inky calm sea, pleased to round the major headland of the Mull of Kintyre during Saturday night without any of the dreaded mal de mer that had so afflicted previous races. Another beautiful day dawned and by 9am and 11am respectively, Will, Alex and Jamie, followed by Elizabeth and Meg were back on again in the searing heat to tackle the mighty 20 mile run up Goat Fell and back. The rest of the crew took in the delights of Lamlash Bay, feasting on ice creams, eating lunch in a civilized manner on deck and then deciding to jump recklessly into the sea from the boat – was this really Scotland? Like the weather, all the runners completed their Arran leg in a blistering time, and we set of for the final stint, arriving in Troon at 7.30pm, running up the pier and finishing another very long race. As expected, without a fuss, everyone leapt into the minibus, arriving back in Shrewsbury at 2.30am, ready for 8.15am Monday Call Over! The boys were duly crowned ‘Kings of the Bens’ ahead of Fettes, Lomond and Glenalmond, but in reality, the event is much more of an ‘experience of a lifetime’ than an actual race.

Having first entered in 2019, its heartening to now meet Old Salopians who refer to it as their greatest achievement so far, even threatening to enter an adult boat of their own! The pupils this year really were delightful and just like all past competitors, they easily upheld the spirit of Kipling, indeed the race: ‘If you can meet with triumph and disaster. And treat those two impostors just the same.’

Watch the race highlights here: