Fundraising student will paddle 200 miles in a bathtub

Luke Parry, 20, who cycled from London to Istanbul for the New Zealand Earthquake Appeal over Easter, will take to water on just a bathtub made buoyant by the inner tube of a tractor tyre and travel 200 miles along the waterways between Birmingham and London next summer.

He will be collecting money for the British Red Cross and is aiming to raise £5,000.

The engineering student said: “It’s going to be the toughest challenge to date and I’m expecting it take two weeks at least since I’ve found that progress is very slow.

“But I’ve already been out on the water in secrecy for a couple of days already and the idea works successfully.

“Many people have walked by and I’d often see their faces light up.

“I’ve had several photos taken already by people passing by and I’ve even got someone to try it so I expect this to be hugely successful.”

Mr Parry, who has bounced back from the disappointment of having the bicycle on which he cycled to Turkey on stolen, is hoping someone can donate a more ornate bathtub to make him stand out to potential donors while he paddles along canals and rivers in June.

He said: “One of the other motivators for me is to inspire and show to everyone dreams are possible - you just have to be courageous and persevere when the odds are stacked against you even if the idea sounds insane.

“This is definitely going over the top compared to London2Istanbul and I hope it gets some mention nationally.”

Like with his previous adventure Mr Parry set up a website and will be blogging about his progress.

http://bathtubadventure.com