Paddleboarder completes coast-to-coast challenge

A paddleboarder has navigated more than 160 miles of canals to go coast-to-coast across England.

Mum of three Natasha Sones, from Suffolk, paddled from Liverpool on England's west coast to Goole in East Yorkshire via the 127-mile Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the 34-mile Aire & Calder Navigation, arriving in East Yorkshire on Sunday.

During the 10-day effort, Sones covered about 15 miles daily during six hours of paddling. She carried her stand-up paddleboard (SUP) over 91 locks during the course of the challenge.

The 46-year-old is one of fewer than 20 people to complete the challenge, which was opened in 2019.

Sones, who is also a travel writer, said she was surprised so few people had completed the trail, which she described as a "bucket list paddle".

"We saw so many people running and walking and cycling along the towpath, which is fantastic. I just didn't see anybody on the water and I guess people are perhaps a bit scared of paddling on canals.

"But as long as you take the appropriate precautions, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. And it's such a glorious beautiful stretch of water that is so varied that it would be amazing to see more people using it," she said.

"More people have swum the channel or climbed Everest," she added.

The route included Bingley Five Rise Locks - the steepest staircase locks on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

"There were challenges throughout, but it was such a varied route, which was fantastic," she said.

"From the urban industrial areas such as Liverpool and Leeds to the just big open spaces of the Aire and Calder Navigation.

"I think everybody had told me that the Skipton was the most beautiful section and it definitely didn't disappoint.

"I've never paddled before seeing rolling hills next to me, so that was really, really amazing."

She was joined by friends Joseph Kemp and Claire Hall, and on sections of the route by Jo Moseley - the first woman to complete the trail on a paddle board in 2019.

She encouraged others to get out on the water, but always to be prepared.

"If you want to have a go at paddling, whether it's kayaking or paddle boarding or canoeing, get yourself a lesson, find yourself a local group, make sure that you're safe," she said.

"As long as you're doing it with somebody else and you've had some advice, then there's absolutely nothing to stop you having a go on the waterways or doing the entire trail one day."

The group have raised £700 for the Canal & River Trust and Surfers Against Sewage.

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