London cancer survivor becomes first person to paddle-board length of England

Survivor: Lizzie Carr took on the feat after beating cancer
Lizzie Carr
Hannah Al-Othman11 June 2016

A London woman who survived cancer has become the first person to travel the entire length of England's canal network on a paddle board.

Lizzie Carr, from Purley, took on the epic 400-mile endurance challenge to raise money and awareness for causes close to her heart.

She traversed the waterways from Surrey to the Lake District over 22 days, using entirely human-powered means on a stand-up paddle board - similar to a surfboard.

She took up paddle boarding two years ago as a low impact way of regaining strength and fitness after she was diagnosed with cancer.

Epic: The 30-year-old travelled 400 miles on a paddle board 
Lizzie Carr

The 30-year-old adventurer then decided to take on the challenge to raise awareness of the volume of plastic pollution in the UK's canals and rivers - an issue she feels very strongly about.

She said: "After being diagnosed with cancer the water was where I could gather my thoughts, seek comfort and find restoration.

"Paddle boarding was an important part of my recovery process and was where I found happiness and perspective during a difficult time.

A map of Lizzie Carr's journey
Lizzie Carr

"I feel incredibly protective of our canals and rivers and this journey was my way of giving something back and do my bit to help preserve them.

"Nature doesn’t need us, we need nature, so it’s important that the real and immediate threat we're facing from plastic pollution globally is looked at and addressed on local levels before it's too late.”

Ms Carr reached the of her 400-mile trip last Sunday.

The feat saw her paddle for 22 consecutive days to cover the distance – travelling the distance of 15.5 marathons.

She was also carrying 30kg of equipment on her paddle board, including a tent and food and supplies.

Ms Carr started her challenge from the most southerly point of the connected waterways network - Godalming in Surrey - on Wednesday, May 11, before travelling upstream through the River Thames onto Oxford Canal, and heading north onto Coventry and Stoke on Trent canals.

She then paddled through Manchester on the Bridgewater canal before finishing in Kendal, Cumbria – the most northerly point of the connected waterways network.

In total, she travelled through nine counties and 193 locks, as well as crossing 6km of tunnels and aqueducts standing more than 25ft above the ground.

Some of her biggest challenges came on the River Thames, as she paddled through torrential downpours whilst upstream on the river, and she also battled against headwinds and crosswinds reaching up to 18mph throughout the route.

The challenge also had an important environmental purpose, as Ms Carr plotted and mapped out plastic pollution along her route, while raising money for two charities - WaterTrek and WaterAid.

Calaoguing her findings on social media using the hashtag #PlasticPatrol, she came across thousands of plastic items, including 1662 bottles, 851 carrier bags, 40 footballs, 24 toys, seven dummies, three chairs, and a hot water bottle.

Ms Carr added: "Paddle boarding the waterways has been the adventure of a lifetime full of challenges and unknowns but, more than that, it's highlighted how beautiful this country is and has demonstrated to me that we need to reclaim our waterways as an iconic piece of history to respect and cherish.

"Nearly 80 per cent of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans comes from inland sources, so focusing on cleaning up canals and rivers is where a real difference can be made to help to resolve the global problem of plastics choking our seas.”

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