I was 9 years old when one day I said those dreaded words to my dad “I’m bored”, during the summer holidays. Before I knew it, I was at the local horse riding school. I have no idea why they choose horse riding, no one in the family rode, but I took to it instantly. Within a year I had become a competitive event rider, and my wonderful parents spent every weekend living in a horse lorry driving me to competitions all over the UK for the rest of my childhood. My greatest achievements include; National School Champion, runner-up in under 21 PC National Championships and winner of South West championships 6 years in a row.

After school, I studied for a degree at the University of Plymouth, before moving on to my Masters at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. Then completely by chance after university, I found myself building a successful career as a commercial model. Working on fashion shows for household names such as Marks and Spencer’s, TIGI and Alexander McQueen, photo shoots and a number of Film and TV projects, including having body doubled for Cameron Diaz.

The ‘real’ adventurous side to my life began in 2005 after I met a man called Tarka. We met through family friends at a party and were quick to find we had little in common. Tarka was less than impressed with my manicured nails and face full of makeup, likewise, I did not see Tarka as the ‘all-action hero’ that his accolades suggested, more a really ‘odd’ Frenchman who seemed to find enjoyment in throwing himself into frozen lakes! We met again 6 months later and very quickly our miss guided impressions of each other were realised and our friendship flourished. So much so, that by the fourth day he asked me to join him on his next North Pole expedition attempt!! “Absolutely no way” was my immediate reply. I need not give it a moments thought, ‘why would I, ‘how’ could I’. Over the next few months Tarka had convinced me somehow that I was capable of far more than I knew, and so I agreed, but only if we could do something “easier” first. On my list of places I wanted to see in the world was the Great Wall of China, so I suggested that – although I only had a couple of weeks walking and taking some pictures in mind. Tarka, however, ran with the idea; he found out that no one had ever walked the full length of it before, and before I knew it we were busily planning our expedition to become the first people in the world to work the entire 4500km length of the Great Wall of China from its most westerly to most easterly point, continually and unsupported. The rest, as they say, is history.