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Injured Soldiers & Cadets In Epic Voyage Around The UK

The former head of the Army has launched a challenge which will see 48 injured soldiers and 96 cadets sail around Britain on a specially adapted tall ship.

During 'Lord Dannatt's Round Britain Challenge', servicemen, cadets and instructors will work as a team, climbing the mast, helming the ship and setting the sails.

The voyage will start in August next year, beginning in London and setting off east around the edge of the UK.

It's organised in conjunction with the Jubilee Sailing Trust, a charity that focuses on bringing those with a disability together with people they wouldn't normally meet.

For the last 40 years they have taken around 50,000 people to sea across the world on STS Lord Nelson, a tall ship designed to be accessible for everyone.

The trip will hit the capital cities of Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff - where the crew will change over in each port - and will end up back in London some 40 days later.

Mhairi Sharp, Military Partnerships Manager at the Jubilee Sailing Trust, says that everyone who joins the ship becomes immediately "part of a crew":

"It's just pushing our boundaries, doing something bigger and better every year."

"This is a great opportunity to connect young people and injured soldiers, and then connect with the community as well."

The team will be welcomed with a special ceremony and an act of remembrance for the First World War at every stop.

At the end of the challenge, cadets will march a wooden shield to the Tower of London, where it will become a WW1 Memorial.

Duncan Souster, Chief Executive of the Jubilee Sailing Trust, said that the idea came out "quite organically" to combine a commemoration activity around the First World War and an initiative to "bring together the combined cadet forces".

You can track the ship's journey online through the Jubilee Sailing Trust's website.