Nicky Button was born in Gloucester and grew up in Worcester. Having a very happy childhood.
Nicky was always last to be picked for any teams at school and was the most uncoordinated and non sporty child being told to go and swim after a term of tennis when she still hadn’t hit a ball. Her teens and twenties removed around horses and children , whilst she ran a yard starting and schooling young horses and teaching people to ride alongside being a foster mother.
In 2000 with an eight year old daughter she moved to Surrey where she spotted a group of people kayaking on a local canal, she went along to the club and heard only two parts of the sentence, Wednesday nights are adults only, whitewater training and we go to the pub afterwards. Six months later she was staring at her first White water river in Wales. Several swims later and at the end of the river she was hooked.
The kayaking totally changed her life and she soon realised that whilst she certainly wasn’t the most proficient, she had found her tribe. Through the kayaking she was invited to help on set on Midsummer Murders and the rest as they say is history, she retrained learning swift water and rope rescue, working at heights and confined spaces, with fire and setting up stunts and rigging. There then followed some incredible years where she felt that she was being paid to have the best time in life.
In 2013 after going away skiing she returned and was unable to see her daughter across the room. Four months later she’d had her driving license removed which knocked onto no job and then no home. Her life felt as though it was falling apart.
She moved to South Devon and stormed along the South West Coast path. A few years on and she was part of walking groups for people with Visual Impairment and encouraging people to get out walking.
On moving to Worcester in 2021 she met an amazing group of strangers who became friends, a trip up Ben Nevis was followed by entering her first Ultra challenge a 50km over Exmoor. When she completed that she looked for her next challenge.
During lockdown she’d dreamed she’d walked from Scotland to Devon, she decided to make this a reality and so Nicky’s most marvellous ridiculous adventure was born. Walking from the Orkney Islands to the Scilly Isles. Solo and unsupported.
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