For my Gold DofE Expedition, my friends and I canoed along Loch Ness and the surrounding lochs. Wild camping on the shores in the evening, and spending all day paddling, we hardly saw another person most days. We brought a mascot along with us; a small Union Jack that we purchased from the airport on the flight over, who we named Bear Xavier Grylls. We often became sidetracked, exploring tunnels, castle ruins, abandoned sheds and shipwrecks. At one point, one member of our group saw a glimpse of something shiny underwater, at a particularly shallow section. We then spend well over an hour trying to find it again, battling the current that was constantly pushing us on. Once we located the mysterious shining object, we could see that it was some sort of old coin. We tried reaching it, but it was too deep, we tried to use our oars to scoop it up, and then tried two oars to grab it. All the while with our other oars jammed into the bed to stop us from drifting away. In desperation, one member of our group decided that we needed a new plan, so jumped in. It was shallow enough that he was able to stand, and managed to find and pick up the coin, with water seeping into his waterproof trousers. It was then that we realised that we had spent well over an hour trying to pick up a jam jar lid. We stopped for a snack break and a change of clothes soon after! Despite this diversion, we made good progress each day, even being a few hours early on the last day along the final stretch. Not wanting the expedition to end, we decided to enjoy the sun and the water. So we raised our oars, using them as sails to catch the wind and slowly drift us towards our final destination. A kind passer-by, and a couple of lucky throws of the disposable camera, resulted in a group photo of our attempt to sail our way to the finish.