University of Worcester lecturer gets 310-mile kayaking challenge underway
Steve Ennis will be kayaking 10 miles every day this month to reach his total
Over 300 miles of kayaking lies ahead of a member of staff from the University of Worcester across this month.
Business lecturer Steve Ennis, who lives in Tewksbury, got his challenge underway yesterday (1 July), and will be repeating his journey up and down the River Avon for another 30 days.
He's aiming to complete 10 miles a day on average from Tewkesbury Rowing Club up to Strensham Lock, being joined on each one of them by a different member of the Worcestershire and Gloucestershire business community.
"I've been kayaking for about 20, 30 years so I'm fairly used to it," he said.
"I've been a bit surprised though by the amount of times I've been out in the last month, because of the 31 people who are joining me, about 20 of the 31 said let me go out on the river with you before it, so I've pretty much been out every day in June as well."
Through the challenge, he's fundraising for Herefordshire-based charity Megan Baker House, which supports adults and children with neurological motor disorders in the county and in Worcestershire, Shropshire and Gloucestershire.
The charity was started in 2002 by Jo and Dave Baker, whose daughter Megan had cerebral palsy.
"The difference that they make for the children and the adults that they serve through the professional team, who provide the care in a really one-on-one kind of style, you can see the profound difference it makes for the lives of the children and adults," he said.
"If that service was not there, the lives of those people would be massively restricted because they wouldn't be able to get out.
"They wouldn't be able to do the things that they're able to do through the support that Megan Baker House gives."
He's raised around £2,000 so far.