AFTER beating cancer, Lizzie Carr took up paddle-boarding to raise awareness of the volume of plastic pollution in the country's canals and rivers—that she feels very strongly about.
She became the first woman to paddle the entire length of England's canal network from South to North, a total of 400 miles, Alan Tilbury tells us.
Regain her strength
She started at Godalming in Surrey on the Wey stood on her paddle board for 22 days traversing the canals right up to Kendal at the top of the disused part of the Lancaster Canal. This was after taking up paddle-boarding two years ago to regain her strength after being diagnosed with cancer, explaining:
"Paddle boarding was an important part of my recovery process and was where I found happiness and perspective during a difficult time. 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."
Food and supplies
On her paddle-board she carried 30kg of equipment, including food and supplies together with a tent for sleeping.
She was raising money for both WaterAid and WaterTrek, and listed all the plastic she saw on her marathon feat—1662 bottles, 851 carrier bags, 40 footballs, 24 toys, three chairs, and a hot water bottle.