Raising awareness for men's mental health, Philip Everett-Lyons, founder and CEO of South Devon's prestigious Hattiers Rum, took on the Great Glen Way Canoe Trail with two of his closest friends, Martin Davidson and Rik Dyson.
Having taken place ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week (Monday 15th May), the trio set out to raise vital funds from the challenge for mental health charity, Mind and are proud to announce they have raised a total of £1610 so far.
Their journey started on Sunday 7th May and took five days to complete, covering 60 miles in their canoes. The Great Glen Way Canoe Trail is one of Scotland's classic and most challenging canoe journeys.
A geographical fault line forms the Great Glen Way splitting Scotland in two and is steeped in history and folklore tales. The canoe journey started in Fort William on the Caledonian Canal before entering the open water of three Scottish lochs; Lochy, Oich and Ness.
“The purpose of the trip was to highlight mental health challenges experienced by many men of our age and the pressures that we face, coupled with the fact that multi-generations have become used to suppressing their feelings and just 'getting on with it'”, explains Philip Everett-Lyons.
Philip went on to say: “Whilst the trip was an amazing adventure, at points it turned into a real challenge! We faced a strong headwind coming through Loch Ness and continuous downpours, which obviously added to the physical challenge itself. The trip gave us the opportunity to come together and support each other at the end of each day. We opened up to one another, having much-needed meaningful conversations about our everyday struggles.
For years the phrase 'man up' has been used flippantly and often under the guise of 'banter' but this has been damaging and sometimes devastating for some men who have felt that they had nobody to talk to or share their worries with, apart from their spouse and often opting to soldier on alone until it's too late.”
In further support of Mind, Hattiers offered a bespoke discount code which meant any bottle of Hattiers Rum that was ordered between 6th May until the 14th May, received 10% off with a further 10% being donated from Hattiers to Mind, Hattiers then donated an additional £250 to the charity.