A woman is about to complete a 35-mile paddleboard trip along the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal where she has been picking up litter and raising money for a charity that campaigns for cleaner water.
Victoria Hewitt uses a wheelchair and crutches to get around on land but loves using a paddleboard for exercise.
She hopes to complete her challenge this Thursday at Five Locks Basin in Pontnewydd.
On each stretch, she carries plastic bags and collects rubbish from the water.
Victoria, 39 and from Cwm, told Cwmbran Life: “I can’t really walk and use crutches and a wheelchair to take my dog for a walk. I had kayaked before and knew I could paddle ok. I bought one and loved it. I started going down the canal. You see days when the water is crystal clear and days when it’s not.”
She’s raising money for Surfers Against Sewage who also campaign for improvements to inland waterways.
“I started at Brecon Basin and have been working my day down, only three miles a day at first, now about five as I’ve worked up getting those muscles in use.
“The next day I’m like, ‘I can’t move’.
“You see breeding ospreys and kingfishers. We have all these amazing wildlife who want to live there and we’re polluting the water with run-off, sewage and plastic bottles.
“I’m not saving the world by picking up some rubbish but it helps to do something. If someone sees someone doing something, they can think ‘I can do that’. It makes people motivated.”
There are eight miles left and the aim is to complete these on two days before the end of next week. The trips take some logistical planning with the support of her family.
“My husband is the driver and drives me to the set-off spot, with my mum who walks the towpath. That makes the time go faster as we point out wildlife to each other. I call him when we’re half an hour away and he picks us up with the heating to defrost us in the car. It’s a team effort.”
She had a genetic disability as a child and fell over 17 years ago while pregnant with her daughter damaging bones in her back leading to weakness and pain. Paddleboarding has been a great way to exercise.
Victoria said: “I can sit or kneel and that works for me. It’s good exercise using my core and back muscles.”
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