The best chapters were the first ones and I guess that was because they were written by Toby, who experienced these places himself.

Having seen the map I was amazed by the scale of his project, doing all these areas in a tiny wee boat? She does such a brilliant job of it, using his notes/voice recordings, etc, that you wouldn't know at which point she had taken over the writing. On a journey that took him to the harshest and most tranquil stretches of our sea, Toby found the real people, places and stories behind the familiar names and imagined environments of the well-loved BBC broadcast. An incredible read of adventure and life that will draw you in and inspire you to pursue your own journeys.I did find it hard at times to continue - because it’s clear from the start that Toby doesn’t complete the journey, and I so wanted him to! And I say "armchair" because I was very happy to just read this one, with all its thrills and spills, without feeling the need to go and do it myself. Thrilling and moving in equal parts, it should inspire us all to get out into the world and embrace its beauty. A lovely read and the language and way it is written was a pleasure to read - given the first three chapters were Toby’s and then it was continued by his sister - she really did him proud and an amazing job - as the reader you wouldn’t know it had switched and I felt I was fully with Toby until the last chapters. Lots to learn and some amazing places visited and it has definitely spurred me to want to see more of the world once more and live for the moment.

One of the most moving parts of the book for me was how you get a real insight into this man’s unique and mind-bending take on life. One of the most moving and affecting books I've read in a long time, it is profound, thoughtful, fascinating and, above all, beautiful.From the wildness and the peace of the sea, looking back at the land, Toby hoped to gain the strength and balance he knew nature could provide and to discover the things that anchor us to each other.

To take on the difficult task of turning reams of notes, audio recordings etc into a cogent book is admirable. Exceptionally beautiful and moving, a book that conjures connection to people, places and the ocean with the immediacy, grace and clarity of a kayak cutting through sea spray. The sort of adventure I've often dreamed of late at night, with additional layers of poignancy and love. Obviously, I understand how hard it must have been to finish writing a book someone else started when Katie didn't even experience what her brother lived through but at the very least, maybe it would've been worth it for her to go to the places he went and try and picture what he felt by being there, instead of looking at photos on Google.But the goal of kayaking all areas was unfilled due to his untimely death at the age of 40 from cancer. The book starts off sharing family history, explaining health conditions and why he wanted to do this, a rather clever method was done to share this. But I got tired of being thrown from one place to the other, sometimes multiple ones in one paragraph (especially in the last chapters) like all he was doing was kayaking as fast as he could and not stopping to admire where he was which I know wasn't true.