LAST Saturday saw 28 members from the Cornwall Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs set off on a 400 mile ­adventure.

They plan to cycle from 'Tower to Tower,' departing from Tower Bridge in London and making their way to Blackpool Tower in Lancashire in time for the Annual General Meeting of the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs.

The Cornwall Feder­ation has been undertaking similar endeavors for over 20 years and has nicknamed the annual event the 'WotNot.'

Every year the County Chairman has to decide in what form the WotNot will take, usually by bike but occasionally on foot or a combination of both. The WotNot has travelled to Northern Ireland, France, Belgium, Ireland, Holland and Majorca.

This year's County Chairman, Nicola Cheg­widden said that she had been thinking about 'her' WotNot for years, and explained: "When I agreed to be Junior Vice Chairman three years ago I knew the time would come when members started asking me what I would be doing for my WotNot. I toyed with the idea of doing an outdoor adventure week such abseiling or rock climbing on Dartmoor but we ask other members, family and friends to sponsor us so there needs to be an element of hard work to a WotNot, hence the 400 miles of cycling!"

While these 28 members have been busy preparing for their escapades on the other side of the world in New Zealand, Cornwall YFC member, Steve Butter from Launceston has just finished completing a WotNot of his own having cycled the length of the North Island.

In his own words Steve said: "I like cycling and think it's a good way to see a country. I had a week on my hands and hadn't had much adventure since I'd left Asia."

So he posted his rucksack to a hostel at his destination and set off on his 430 mile journey. Averaging 70 miles a day Steve's week was anything but uneventful, after just 10 minutes he was pulled over by the police for taking a shortcut on a motorway and his first night was spent in a borrowed tent with no bedding only to awake to find his only spare t-shirt had been stolen from the campsite's washing line!

Steve's exploits also demonstrate the strength of the rural youth network of Young Farmers' Clubs across the world as on his second night he was able to stay with a New Zealand member that had visited Cornwall last summer — it's a small world!

This year the WotNotters are raising money for 'Epilepsy Support for Young People in Cornwall' and 'Epilepsy Action.' If anyone would like to support the youngsters they should contact the County Office.

The Cornwall Feder­ation of Young Farmers' Clubs welcomes new members and is open to anyone between the ages of 10 to 26. Anyone interested should telephone the County Office on 01208 893080 or email [email protected]">[email protected] for further contact details.