My name’s Ed Pratt and on the 29th June I’ll be embarking on a solo mission to travel the length of the River Thames from source to sea. This might sound straightforward enough, but I’ve set myself one rather challenging rule;

‘in order to to make progress I have to follow the course of the river exactly. So that’s not walking alongside it, but IN it the entire way.’

My plan is to hike/wade/swim(!) the first section and then, once the river becomes wide enough, hop onto a strategically placed kayak and paddle the rest of the distance through Oxford, Reading AND London to the mouth. I estimate the 200+ miles distance taking me around two weeks to complete, but it could definitely take longer.

I attempted a similar challenge last year on the river Parrett in Somerset, which you can watch via the LINK in the comments of this page.

While the primary reason for this trip is to capture the adventure for my YouTube channel, I’ve decided to also raise funds and awareness for The Rivers Trust to hopefully, in a very small way, help improve the dire health of the waterways in the UK and Ireland.

Our rivers are sick!!

* No single stretch of river in England or Northern Ireland is in good overall heath.

* Just 15% of English, 31% of Northern Irish, and 50% of Irish river stretches reach good ecological health.

* Toxic chemicals that remain in ecosystems for decades, pollute every stretch of English rivers.

The Rivers Trust is the umbrella organisation of a movement spread across the whole of the UK and Ireland comprising of local charities united under the mission to improve the health of our precious rivers. 

By working with nature, engaging with communities, creating partnerships with businesses, collecting and democratising data, and campaigning for meaningful change, The Rivers Trust Movement is fighting against these threats and demanding better for our rivers.

Your donation will help to support grassroots conservation efforts across the UK and Ireland. It could help to create a totally new wetland, support our fight against sewage pollution, or enable us to ensure that rivers flow freely for fish.