With barely any thought following a “rough” 2014, Alex Ellis-Roswell looked out his walking boots, packed his bag and headed for the nearest lifeboat station in Margate.
Now, almost three years and 8,500 miles on, he has trodden nearly all of the British and Irish coast, raising an astonishing £52,000 for the RNLI in the process.
The people of Fife have rallied around Mr Ellis-Roswell on the epic fundraising walk to take in all of the seafaring charity’s lifeboat stations after a nasty fall dealt his trek a blow.
He slipped as he neared Anstruther last week, suffering a grade-two lateral ligament tear and fibula avulsion fracture on his right ankle during the fall.
However Mr Ellis-Roswell was given a “great” welcome by the Fife village, who offered him shelter and companionship, helping him towards a swift recovery.
Last night the 24-year-old, who has about 1,000 miles to go in his journey, said the Anstruther lifeboat volunteers had been among the “closest” he had met on his tour of the stations.
He said: “I fractured my ankle as I passed outside Kingsbarns. Anstruther was great, everybody really helped me out when I needed it.
“It is really frustrating, it was not even a good story. I was just walking along a flat, straight, grassy path. It must have been just a tiny little dip.
“Considering the last few years I have been walking over mountains, and shingle beaches, I was disappointed.
“Anstruther is honestly one of the closest lifeboat crews I have come across.
“I have met thousands of lifeboat crews, thousands of volunteers at the RNLI, it has a nice feeling. A family feeling.”
After several days in Anstruther, he managed to set off as far as Kinghorn earlier this week. However he has had to stop in Dalgety Bay to rest his ankle again.
And the walker, a seasonal farm worker in his native Kent, said he put little thought into taking on the 9,500 mile trek back in August 2014.
Mr Ellis-Roswell added: “It was at the start of August 2014, that was when I started walking around the whole of Britain and Ireland. I started in Margate, Kent.
“2014 was just a really bad year. I was going through a rough time. I wanted to go on an adventure.
“I am heading home now. I will finish off in Kent in about four months time. It’s been all in one go, a non-stop walk. I am trying to raise £10 for every mile.
“The amount raised just shows how well supported lifeboats are around the country. People have a real understanding of how important they are.
“It has been three years of life: so many highs, so many lows.
“I really fell in love with Orkney and Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides. It is stunning. Fife has been incredible as well. They made life really easy.”
To donate to Mr Ellis-Roswell’s cause click here.
‘Alex’s trek sums up ethos of RNLI’
One Fife lifesaver said Alex Ellis-Roswell’s determination captured the spirit of the RNLI.
Operations manager at Kinghorn lifeboat station, Alan McIlravie, said the Englishman’s journey “speaks volumes”.
He added: “It is fantastic how people support the RNLI, he is visiting every lifeboat not just in the British mainland but out in Ireland.
“It is a huge undertaking that he’s been doing for something like three years. In many ways it speaks not only volumes about him but reflects the ethos of the RNLI.
“Over three years he has faced all sorts of difficulties, but there was no giving up.”
