The River Thames looks mighty and awe-inspiring as it flows through London, but at the start, it’s practically just a marsh.
So reveals Ed Pratt, an adventurer who waded, swam and kayaked over 200 miles down the river, from its source to the sea.
Ed has a history of madcap adventures and has previously travelled 22,000 miles around the world on a unicycle.
His recent trip along the Thames was followed by hundreds of thousands of people on TikTok, with one of his videos receiving over 4.2million views.
Ed began his journey in Gloucestershire – where the river originates. Its starting point, known as Thames Head, does not have a fixed location, but arises from a group of shifting springs near Cirencester and Coates.
Adventurer Ed Pratt (pictured) waded, swam and kayaked over 200 miles down the River Thames, from source to sea. His journey was followed by hundreds of thousands of people on TikTok, with one of his videos receiving over 4.2million views
Ed began his journey in Gloucestershire – where the Thames originates. Its starting point, known as Thames Head (above), does not have a fixed location, but arises from a group of shifting springs. Picture courtesy of Creative Commons licensing
Ed paddled through London on his journey, where he passed by the Palace of Westminster and travelled under Tower Bridge
For the first few days, Ed trudged through muddy and foliage-rich water while ducking under the arches of small bridges.
On day four, once the water became more traversable, Ed picked up his kayak in Cricklade, Wiltshire.
The small vessel, which he called ‘Thamesy McThamesface’, served him well for the rest of the journey.
Ed paddled through Oxford, Reading, Henley, Windsor, Shepperton and Kingston before reaching the ‘choppy’ London section, where he passed by the Palace of Westminster and travelled under Tower Bridge.
Ed paddled through Oxford, Reading, Henley, Windsor, Shepperton and Kingston on his journey. The above image shows the Thames flowing through Henley-on-Thames
Ed spent most nights wild camping on the banks of the river, or in nearby car parks, aside from when strangers invited him in
On his journey, Ed capsized twice, came across sunken boats and picked up plastic litter that had found its way into the river.
He spent most nights wild camping on the banks of the river, or in nearby car parks, aside from when strangers invited him in.
He spent one night on a Dutch barge and was even invited to stay in the captain’s cabin of HMS Wellington, which is moored in central London alongside Victoria Embankment.
Ed started each day at the exact point where he left the river the previous day.
After 19 days, he arrived at Sheerness seafront in Kent, which is located near the mouth of the River Thames, where it flows into the Thames Estuary and eventually into the North Sea.
On his journey, Ed capsized twice, came across sunken boats and picked up plastic litter that had found its way into the river. The above image shows the town of Windsor from the banks of the Thames
After 19 days, Ed arrived at Sheerness seafront in Kent (above), which is located near the mouth of the River Thames
In a TikTok video posted at the finish line, Ed described the last leg of his journey as a ‘beautiful paddle’ and felt ‘relieved’ to have made it to the end.
The adventurer set off on the journey with the intention of ‘raising money and awareness’ for The Rivers Trust, a charity aiming to conserve the rivers across Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland. He set the goal of donating £10,000 to the charity and managed to raise over £20,000.
In the video, Ed noted that the fundraiser was still open for donations, and thanked those who had followed along on the journey.
