Fife sisters kayak across English Channel for ex-offenders charity

Cleodie and Rosabel Kilgour took on their adventure across the Channel last week, with good weather and tides giving them the perfect conditions for the challenge.

“It was so sunny and the tides were all in our favour,” said Cleodie. “It was really good – I thought it was going to be a lot harder.

“It went much better than I expected.”

The pair started at 11am on Thursday, and landed in France five-and-a-half hours later.

The pair kayaked most of the way, but had to take a boat across five miles of French shipping lanes.

For younger sister Cleodie (19) it marked her first time taking part in a challenge.

She is currently on her gap year, before studying history at Edinburgh University.

For 22-year-old Rosabell, this was the latest in a long line of endurance challenges, including a two-day marathon across the Sahara desert and the Paris marathon.

And Cleodie is confident she will follow in her sister’s footsteps and do more unique challenges in the future.

“I’m 100 per cent going to do more,” she said.

“I’m probably going to do what my sister does and do one every year.

“I wanted to see if I could do it, physically and mentally, but when I was doing it, it was not as bad as it sounds. I feel more confident now.”

The sisters hoped to raise £300 for The Oswin Project, but ended up smashing that target, raising more than £450 at the time of writing.

The project gives second chances to ex-offenders in the north east of England, by giving them training and employment.

If you would like to make a donation to the fundraiser, visit the website – uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CleodieKilgour1.