I was impressed when Tom and Dale rowed from Birmingham to London last month, but now a student has done the same journey in a bathtub, raising over £1000 for the British Red Cross.

Engineering student Luke Parry (21), travelled down the Grand Union Canal in less than 10 days, leaving Olton, in the West Midlands on August 26th and arriving in Little Venice, on September 4th.

Luke, originally from East Yorkshire, said: "It was very hard going. Every morning my muscles were aching so much that it took two good cups of strong coffee to get me going. I never thought it was going to be easy, but I am overwhelmed that I've managed to achieve what, at times, I thought was quite impossible."

He had to abandon his first attempt earlier this summer because of the amount of rain.

He said: "Most people thought that I was just paddling up and down the river in the tub, but when I said I had paddled from Birmingham they thought I was joking. When they realised I was serious, most people put their hands in their pocket or wallet to make a donation and wish me well for the remaining journey."

Check out the full story at The Great Bathtub Adventure blog. Sadly he was not received in Little Venice by an audience of hundreds of people applauding but his blog still ends on a high note.

“I had shown that the impossible could be done. Paddling in a bathtub from Birmingham to London!”

Luke is still accepting donations via www.bathtubadventure.com

Image credit: The Great Bathtub Adventure blog.

Peggy Melmoth
www.narrowboatwife.com

You may also like:
Living on a Boat: The Boatshed Guide (free) / New Boat Blog on the Block / Tom and Dale Row the Grand Union / A slideshow of our boat of the moment./Blog Archive

New here? Follow our blog on Facebook or Twitter and share your waterways pictures and news.

Get free updates from this blog: subscribe by email.