Myself and my Father Mick are taking on the challenge of Kayaking across Scotland, from Fort William to Inverness, via the Caledonian canal, loch Lochy, loch Oich, and loch Ness.

We intend to cover the 60-mile distance in three days, whilst wild camping along the way.

We are keen to turn this event into a good cause, the nearest cause to our family is what is now known as The Bubble Foundation, based in Newcastle.

The Bubble Unit, was established in 1987 to treat babies and children born with defective immune systems.

It is a tribute to the whole team that survival rates for the children who are treated on the Bubble Unit have risen initially from 6 out of 10 dying to now 9 out of 10 living.

As a family we came across this charity back in 1996, when my brother Luke, was diagnosed with Hyper Igm (Hyper-Gammaglobulinemia), this is very similar to SCIDS (Severe combined immunodeficiency), where a virus as slight as a cold can be fatal to a baby or child.

He had a bone marrow transplant but as is highlighted earlier in this piece, the success rate back then wasn’t very high, and Luke died on 27th November 1996, the day before my 7th birthday.

Since then the Barber family have continuously raised money for this life saving charity, to date we have raised approx. £10,500.00

We hope you can help support us on this challenge, You can find out more about the bubble foundation at www.bubblefoundation.org.uk