On Thursday of this week, long time forum member, holder of the prestigious title of ‘1st woman to skate 100 miles in 24 hours’, web-designer, blog writer and general all-round good egg; Laura Hatwell will be setting off on an epic skateboarding trip called Perimeter. Her website tells us a litte about this whirlwind of a girl:
I’ve been skating for 3 years. I gave up a cooped-up job in television to raise money for children’s charities on a skateboard journey across Australia and haven’t really stopped moving since. In 2008, I skated 102 miles in a day, and really want to skate even further next time. I’m guessing 700 miles on a skateboard will be good training…
I’m doing this trip because I’ve had enough of passing water bottles to other skaters, bless ’em – it were great, but this is about me, a personal challenge to myself and a promise made to a grieving partner of a brave Marine, as well as my Grandad Len, or Ganga, as he is fondly known! Skating is my passion, as well as discovering and exploring. Hence why I’ve named this ‘the most curious skateboard trip undertaken in the UK’ – because I literally am excited about what could be around every turn.
At the moment I work as an ice steward, so I get a good workout in my job as well as my spare time, which is spent, of course, skating everywhere. I’ll be giving that up to do this. It means a lot to me that I get this done. For my own personal 2009 adventure quota!
This September I start teacher training teaching Creativity and Media to secondary school pupils. This will fulfill a lifelong hope and dream of helping others achieve their own goals, which to be fair, is why I’m here doing this!
Laura has been planning this trip for quite some time and is fully up for the challenge. She has been ably supported by words of advice from the skatefurther forum members and has got all her kit ready to go (most recently a demonseed deelite donated by the Long Treks on Skate Decks crew of Aaron and Paul). The media scrum is beginning (see the vid on the Perimeter:North Sea Skate media page) and its getting super close. Her route is all planned out, as she explains on her site:
After making landfall (I hope!) in Shetland after a long journey from Plymouth by road and sea, I will begin my adventure by travelling the length of the islands there.
Catching a ferry across to Kirk wall in Orkney, I plan to skate around the island and hop on a ferry across to the mainland.
Coming round the ‘top’ of the mainland at John O’Groats, my route will roughly take me around the East Coast of Scotland until I make the border with England.
We, of course, wish Laura all the very best of luck. You can read all about her tip on her website Perimeter:North Sea Skate, you can keep up tp date with her movements on the Perimeter Forum thread, you should go and donate to Help for Heros on her Just Giving page and leave a little message of support in the forum.
Good Luck Hatters!
SkateFurther 
Go Laura Go!