Looe RNLI’s volunteer deputy launch authority, Nick Pope, ran the Smugglers Way from Boscastle to Looe overnight and unaided, raising over £2,200 for the Looe Lifeboat Appeal.

Nick Pope has been a volunteer with Looe RNLI since the lifeboat station was re-established in 1992. When he stood down as an inshore lifeboat helm Nick, took on the role of deputy launching authority (DLA) for the station’s lifeboats.

Nick says he wanted to do some kind of ‘challenge event’ as part of the fundraising campaign for Looe’s new D-class inshore lifeboat Ollie Naismith II. “As one of the original crew from 1992 and now as DLA, my bond with the station and its crew is immense and I wanted to help get them what they deserve.”

Nick has over 40 years’ experience of hillwalking and mountaineering and after reading about the Smugglers Way from Boscastle to Looe he hit upon the challenge of running the route in winter, at night and on his own. As Nick puts it “In a way, I wanted to reflect the dedication of all RNLI crews, who will turn out 24/7/365 in all weathers to help others. I would do the same. Naturally, this is not something to take on lightly, it takes training, experience, and planning. Just like RNLI crews who train regularly, build experience in all conditions, so that when the time comes, they are as prepared as they can be to put themselves in harm’s way.”

After months of training and meticulous planning, crewmate James Chudleigh with his wife Becky along with helm Toby Bray took Nick over to Boscastle to start his challenge at 10pm last Friday, 17 December 2021. Nick’s 56km run began, dipping his feet in the north Cornish waters. The route will take him along river valleys and woodlands inland to Davidstow and the high moor. Along the way Nick’s headtorch picked out herds of Belted Galloways and Highland cows. A near full moon helped Nick to navigate around the cows along the moorland paths to Rough Tor and Brown Willy, but he did not linger on the top of the tors as there was a cold and strong easterly wind blowing. Leaving the high moor his next waymark was Jamaica Inn, where Nick had conveniently parked his van with a change of clothing, dry shoes and a hot brew. It was difficult for Nick to leave the warmth of his van but off he went again running past Dozmary Pool, Colliford Lake, into Dobwalls before dropping down to the West Looe river valley for the final push home.

Some of our crew were following Nick’s progress overnight on his livetracker feed. However once in the West Looe river valley, around Herodsfoot, we lost the signal and were nearly caught out when his signal suddenly reappeared to tell us he was running along the Millpool!

Crew members Clive, Amber, Toby, Carol and Ian were joined by Nick’s wife Mags at 7.45 am on Saturday morning to welcome Nick and witness him dip his feet in the south Cornish waters on the lifeboat station slipway, to mark the completion of his challenge.

Reflecting on his achievement later, Nick says “I’ve done it! Coast to coast across highest Cornwall, alone, at night and in winter. What’s perhaps even stranger is that I’ve loved every minute, even the cows!

“More importantly though, I’ve raised some money for a new lifeboat (£1825, plus gift aid, as I sit here writing, but hopefully it will rise further).

Thank you, to each and every one of you who donated.”

Watch 30 seconds of Nick's run through Dobwalls as well as when he reached in finish line on the Looe RNLI's Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/LooeRNLI