Karen Lee said she could not thank people enough for their help

A snowed-in bride from Kent enlisted the help of 4×4 drivers to get her and 40 guests to the church on time and ensure the wedding went ahead.

Karen Rawlins, 42, had feared she would have to cancel her wedding to John Lee, 35, because of the snow.

But following an appeal on BBC Radio Kent, listeners helped transport them to the church, in the remote village of Dode, near Luddesdown.

Following the service the new Mrs Lee said: “It was a dream come true.”

She said: “It’s been absolutely amazing, I’m lost for words and can’t thank people enough for their generosity, it’s not what you expect really.

“In total there’s been about seven or eight cars and Land Rovers - we even had an offer of a tractor and trailer as well.

She added: “I think we had both resigned ourselves this morning to it not happening, then when all these people started pulling together and we realised we could get married, it was just unbelievable. It was a dream come true.

“We changed lots of things and cut short some things, but we had the ceremony and service and got married on he day we planned. That’s through the generosity of so many people.”

Volunteer John Goffin, 62, from Gillingham, who witnessed the service said: “A friend phoned me and said there had been an appeal on Radio Kent.

“I said I had a Land Rover Discovery and was quite happy to ferry some people to help out. I think it’s great to be able to do something like this. You do it because you want to.”

A string of kind-hearted listeners helped get the couple’s guests from the Premier Inn in Gravesend, and from the Leather Bottle in Cobham to the ceremony in 4×4 vehicles.

Speaking before the ceremony Mrs Lee’s sister Tracey Spellman, 41, said: “When my sister woke up this morning she was very quiet.

“When we started to have the calls through from the radio that there were cars coming, she was crying.

“It probably would have been off, but now it’s going to happen.”

The redevelopment has seen the creation of new seafront restaurants

Boscombe is on a big mission to improve its rundown image and attract a new crowd of visitors all year round.

The Dorset town’s centrepiece is the multimillion-pound artificial surf reef, the first of its kind in Europe which, it is hoped, is set to enhance the quality of waves and improve surfing conditions.

The seafront promenade has already been redeveloped, a new boutique hotel is welcoming its first guests and owning a slice of a luxurious apartment block could set you back £1m.

But are developers forgetting what is already there?

The £11m redevelopment of Boscombe seafront has already run over budget, with the artificial surf reef almost doubling in cost from £1.4m to £3m and opening more than a year late.

‘Falling to pieces’

Steve Kent, of Boscombe Traders’ Association, said that some of the extra money Bournemouth Borough Council had used in the project could have been spent on updating the town centre.

“The principle is a brilliant idea,” he said.

“The work that they have done to the seafront is great, although it could have been done a lot cheaper.

Traders want more investment in the town centre Surf reef opens after year delay Have surf reefs worked elsewhere?

“What we have is an old 1960s precinct which is 40 years out of date, it needs upgrading because it is slowly falling to pieces.”

Lisa Northover, a councillor for Boscombe West, and runs website Boscalicious to promote the town.

She moved to the town 10 years ago and said when she used to look out of her window she would see open drug taking and prostitution.

“I have seen such a massive improvement already from it,” she said.

“There has been a lot of new, really high quality businesses that have come to the area. It’s just so different to 10 years ago.

“I think some people are willing it not to work, but you can see it working.

“So many people away from Boscombe have heard about it, people see it as something special.

“What I am expecting to see is more of a year round impact. We are already busy in the summer and are more likely to see people coming in the winter.”

An affluent surfer market will be attracted to the area, extending the tourism through winter Mark Smith, Bournemouth Borough Council

David Kilburn, head of business development at Bournemouth University, said the reef development would draw in a “hotchpotch” of people.

But he believes social problems still in the town need to be contained and eradicated or it will risk impacting on tourism.

“[The project] is creating a lot of impact,” he said.

“Bournemouth itself is very busy in the summer even if the weather isn’t good.

“I think the surf reef will continue to draw people to that part of Boscombe beach area. People will want to go down there and check it out.

“I don’t think necessarily the people coming in will pose any problems.

“The issue is one that we have always had, there are some socially disadvantaged people living in that area and they have to be careful that they help those people, rather than having drunks around the beach, drug addicts openly taking drugs.

“It needs to be contained and eradicated and the only way to do this is to help these people.”

Mark Smith, director of tourism with Bournemouth Borough Council, said that the reef met expectations even before it was even completed in terms of regeneration and attracting new businesses.

“A great amount of both public and private money has been invested in Boscombe and this would not have happened without the reef,” he said.

“An affluent surfer market will be attracted to the area, extending the tourism through winter…rather than the trade having to rely on the traditional period of July and August.

“Compared to other artificial reef projects in the world, we have gone so much further with the Boscombe reef as it is so well-supported by excellent facilities on land.”

Another big tourism project on the south coast widely criticised for being over budget and behind schedule was Portsmouth’s 170m (558ft) Spinnaker Tower.

In 2005, Portsmouth City Council finally opened the long-awaited structure, which depicts a billowing sail.

The Spinnaker Tower is attracting 100,000 visitors a year

The project, originally due to open for the Millennium celebrations, was five years late and cost £36m, more than £11m of that being footed by the taxpayer.

But it has been a success, attracting 100,000 visitors and bringing in more than half a million pounds a year.

“It has become an icon of the south coast and it has drawn the city together,” said Portsmouth councillor Lee Hunt, cabinet member for culture and leisure.

“The lesson that I could give would be to get behind this project, make it work and find ways of making it work.

“It is a ripple-effect, how to build on the success and how to best utilise the success.”

Katie-Jane and Tarka walked across the Great Wall of China together

Some women go to extreme lengths to get their partner to propose to them, but not many would undertake a dangerous mission to cross the world’s third largest ice cap.

But that’s exactly what Katie-Jane Cooper from Clayhidon, near Wellington, is doing.

The 29-year-old and her partner Tarka L’Herpiniere, 27, have always been adventurous and that love could lead to a marriage proposal.

Should the duo make it across the ice cap in Southern Patagonia - without the aid of a kite - a hidden wedding ring will end up on Katie-Jane’s finger.

Tarka’s love of dangerous activities and mountains stemmed from his childhood where he grew up in the French Alps. Since then, Tarka has continuously pushed his body to extreme lengths, having completed nearly 30 expeditions to date.

Katie is also a keen sportswoman; at the age of 17 she won the Individual National Schools Eventing Championships, and in 1997, she was runner up to Zara Philips at the national championships.

So, it was only natural that when the couple met that they would undertake adventures together.

“Most of our ideas our spawn from Katie’s mind and then I develop them. So Katie mentions them in jest usually and says ‘I’d like to go and visit Southern Patagonia’ and then I kind of mould it into more of an adventure,” said Tarka.

EXTREME EXPLOITS Tarka: In 2006, he set out to join an elite group and summit the world’s highest mountain on earth without oxygen. At 7km above sea level, he developed High Altitude Cerebral Edema Tarka and Katie-Jane: Completed a continual unsupported trek along the Great Wall of China, walking 4,500km through the Taklahama desert and the Qiling Mountains with temperatures varying from +40°C to -35°C Tarka and Katie-Jane: In 2008 undertook a 8,000km cycle through Africa on a 30-year-old steel bicycle with no brakes or gears

“When I was suggesting the Great Wall of China, I was actually suggesting holidaying, taking pictures, a one week - two week walk, and then Tarka escalates it into these huge, mammoth tasks,” said Katie-Jane.

And the latest mammoth task involves completing a full crossing, north to south, of the Southern Patagonian ice cap fully unsupported.

To make the trek even more difficult, they have decided to take only the exact amount of food rations they require (37 days worth for a 40 day crossing due to the weight limit) which means they cannot afford any mistakes or delays.

“For me it’s by far my biggest challenge yet,” said Katie-Jane.

“My previous expeditions that I have been on, all I’ve had to do is keep going; it’s been a battle not to give up whereas this one technically is incredibly demanding.”

And one of the demands includes having to propel down a 600-metre cliff face. To prepare for this, they have been abseiling down the Avon Gorge, while imagining that their reality will be ten times as far.

“[I'm] incredibly wary of the 600m ice cliff. I’m very much concerned of the fact that because it is an area of such incredible weather, and because we have such limited food supplies we have to navigate in what would normally be considered as ‘inadequate conditions’ to be manoeuvring around crevasses,” said Tarka.

He said normally they would sit it out in a tent but because they have such a limited food supply, they are going to have to keep going.

They will have to abseil down a 600m cliff face

“When I prepare, I genuinely prepare as if it is someone else going and not myself. That’s my way of getting through,” said Katie-Jane.

“But now with a week to go, I have to mentally prepare myself with my sport psychologist that it’s me who has to go and that I’m capable and have the skills.”

Being a couple has also meant they have had to take a special mental attitude to the expedition.

“If one of you has an argument, then that could be death. It can’t happen, there has to be rules set in place before you go,” said Katie-Jane

“Tarka is the expedition leader so his decision is always final even though we have discussions and we have to stand by that despite being a couple and thinking you’re always right.”

Cold and hunger

So what part of the trip are they least looking forward to?

Tarka said he dreads the cold, wind and hunger, but “although I dread all that, I also have a strange love of it at the same time”.

“I really love to see how far you can go as a human, how much control you have over yourself and the elements and to see whether you can be in a position to be in control in an out of control situation.”

Tarka has sewn an engagement ring into his clothing

“We know the chances for success are pretty slim, so to still go out there with the right attitude that we can still achieve it despite it being impossible, has meant a lot more mental preparation,” said Katie-Jane.

“If we’re going to talk about it statistically, we’ve probably got a 40% success rate because we’re going for such an unusual technique but deep down inside, I wouldn’t go unless I thought I had a better chance than that,” said Tarka.

Katie-Jane added: “We don’t give up, we’re there to succeed. In general we like to be winners so we’re push to the bitter end.”

And what better impetuous to complete the mission than the promise of an engagement at the end of it? Tarka has even sewn a ring into his suit.

“If I make it, Tarka has promised me that we will get engaged to be married which is amazing.

“I’ve been discussing this with him and if he breaks his leg and we have to be evacuated does that mean it’s off and he said yes but that’s not fair!”

The couple leave on Saturday, and you can follow their progress every step of the way on the Rivers of Ice website.

There are plans for more camps at Easter and in the half-term holidays

An atheist summer camp in Somerset is offering children aged seven to 17 a “godless alternative” to religious camps traditionally run by the scouts and church groups.

Some of the 24 children arriving at Camp Quest in Bruton seemed a little young to be tackling the weighty concepts ahead of them.

The summer camp, designed with the children of atheist parents in mind, has a slightly daunting mission statement.

It is “dedicated to improving the human condition through rational inquiry, critical and creative thinking, scientific method… and the separation of religion and government”.

Certainly the Murray boys - John, Julius and Leeroy, aged nine, eight and seven respectively - were focusing on the simple pleasures of living under canvas for five days and taking part in traditional activities like climbing, canoeing and rafting.

‘Sceptical approach’

John said: “I’m looking forward to making new friends, meeting new people and doing all the activities set up for us.”

Leeroy noted: “I like activities because it will give you more health, and you will be quite fit for running the 200 metres.”

While Julius added: “I like sleeping in sleeping bags because it’s nice and cosy and it covers the whole body.”

The 24 children were housed in a dozen brown and green tents grouped around a camp-fire on a sloping grassy meadow fringed with trees.

Camp organisers say they tell children “how” not “what” to think

The rafting got off to a noisy start as teams of six took to the waters of the River Brue on crafts they had constructed from blue plastic drums and planks of wood.

Among other early activities was an obstacle course including rubber tyres and netting which the children completed blindfolded.

The camp sets out to teach co-operation, tolerance and empathy. But it is the approach to life’s bigger questions that sets it apart - especially its treatment of religion.

Its website describes a sceptical approach, stating: “Campers are taught that ethical behaviour is not dependent on religious belief and doctrines, that religious belief and doctrines are sometimes a hindrance to ethical and moral behaviour, and that irreligious persons are also good and fully capable of living a happy and meaningful life.”

The camp’s director, Samantha Stein, insisted it was intended to get the children to think for themselves.

She said: “If the children were to come up with a question about creationism for example, we would discuss the evidence. We wouldn’t say, ‘Creationism is rubbish’… if they weigh the evidence and think there’s a good case for it.”

Most mainstream Christians would not include creationism as part of their faith, and would also encourage the “rational inquiry” suggested by Camp Quest.

At least one of the parents delivering children to the Mill on the Brue activity centre had already taken his daughter to one of the many Christian summer camps, but wanted to give her wider experience.

It’s really a way of trying to get the kids involved in philosophical thinking but in a way they don’t realise they’re doing it Samantha Stein, camp director

The father of the Murray boys, also called Leeroy, said he would also be happy to take them to a Christian camp.

He said: “The biggest thing here for me is to give them a range of experiences and to encourage them as far as possible in understanding religion and to understand science and to give them the tools for them to make up their own mind which direction they want to go.”

Fellow parent Crispian Jago also endorsed Camp Quest’s aim of getting children to think for themselves.

“Anything that can teach the children ways of thinking critically, ways of examining arguments, and recognising logical fallacies and trying to determine for themselves what they believe is true, then I think that’s a positive thing,” he said.

The camp insists that when it comes to God, it is not telling the children what to think so much as how to think.

Camp Quest was born in the US 13 years ago, as secularists sought an alternative in a summer camp market dominated by religious institutions.

The British version is costing participants £275 for the five days, and there are plans for others, at Easter and during half-term holidays.

Invisible unicorns

By evening the uncertain weather had produced a number of sharp downpours and by sunset there was a definite chill in the air.

But the children gathered round the camp-fire with their enthusiasm undimmed, to be set their principal task of the week.

For the “centrepiece” of its scientific approach to religion the camp asks its participants to search for two invisible unicorns.

The unicorns cannot be seen or heard, tasted, smelt or touched, they cannot escape from the camp and they eat nothing.

The only proof of their existence is contained in an ancient book handed down over “countless generations”.

A prize - a £10 note signed by Professor Richard Dawkins - is offered to any child who can disprove the existence of the unicorns.

Outside the camp gates, a single lonely demonstrator criticised both Professor Dawkins and the camp he supports.

Paul Arblaster, the chaplain of a non-denominational church in the small cathedral city of Wells in Somerset, was holding two home-made placards.

He claimed the unicorn story showed that the camp did not limit its teaching about religion to neutral “rational inquiry”.

“Certainly I think there’s a slant on it. They may deny that the unicorn exercise is anything to do with God, but I think it’s a fairly thinly-veiled representation of that sort of indoctrination,” he said.

But Ms Stein denied the claim, saying: “The object is not to bash religion or to tell the kids that there’s no such thing as God. The object is to get the kids to think about things like the burden of proof.

“So, who has to prove the unicorns are there… is it the person who says they are there or is it the person who’s saying, ‘No, I don’t think you’re right’?

“So it’s really a way of trying to get the kids involved in philosophical thinking but in a way they don’t realise they’re doing it.”