Support the RNLI Mayday Mile

My Activity Tracking

36
mi

My target 31 mi

How your support helped the RNLI in 2024

437 Lives saved

25,327 People aided by lifeboat crews and lifeguards

9,141 Lifeboat launches

I’m taking on the Mayday Mile Challenge to support RNLI volunteers

This May, I’m completing a mile-a-day challenge to help RNLI crews save lives at sea.

Taking part in the RNLI Mayday Mile Challenge feels deeply personal to me. Some of my happiest childhood memories are of visiting lifeboat stations around the UK, watching the boats launch into the sea and imagining the courage it must take to head out into dangerous waters to save lives. I still remember the excitement of receiving my copy of Storm Force magazine and reading story after story of daring rescues, wild weather, and extraordinary acts of bravery at sea.

A huge part of that love came from my Great Uncle Ben, who helped make the RNLI such an important part of my life from an early age. Because of him, I grew up with a deep admiration for the crews and volunteers who give their time — and sometimes risk their lives — to help others.

This challenge is my way of giving something back, while also sharing some of the incredible folklore, history, and human stories connected to the RNLI and saving lives at sea. From legendary rescues to tales of storms and shipwrecks, these stories deserve to be remembered and retold.

Will you sponsor my RNLI Mayday Mile Challenge and support the courageous crews?

Please help raise funds for the RNLI

Raised

£17 + £4.36 GiftAid

My Goal

£50

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My Achievements

Updated Profile Pic

Self donated

Reached 25% of fundraising target

Reached 50% of fundraising target

Reached 100% of fundraising target

Added a Blog Post

Shared fundraising page

Reached 25% of distance target

Reached 50% of distance target

Reached 100% of distance target

My Updates

Along the Thames: Heritage, Legends, and Lifeboat Crews

Friday 15th May

Walking through Westminster yesterday for work, I was struck by how much folklore and heritage live quietly in the streets around us. Ancient halls, river legends, ravens, lost waterways, statues of heroes, and stories layered into the stones beside the Thames.

It also made me think about how the river has always shaped Britain’s stories — carrying traders, pilgrims, monarchs, sailors, and rescuers. The Thames has inspired myths and ballads for centuries, but it has also been a place of real danger. The Thames lifeboat crews, part of the RNLI today, continue that long tradition of courage on the water, responding to incidents along one of the world’s busiest rivers, where history and modern life constantly collide.

That’s part of why supporting the RNLI means so much to me during the Mayday Mile Challenge. Britain’s relationship with the sea and rivers is woven into our folklore and history, but the RNLI continues that story today through real acts of rescue and bravery at sea and on the Thames.

From Westminster to the wild shoreline, these islands are full of stories shaped by water. 🌊

Grace Darling - National Heroine

Tuesday 12th May

As part of the challenge, I’ve been inspired to explore the heritage of the RNLI and the rich folklore of Britain’s coasts—the stories shaped by storms, shipwrecks, and the communities who live by the sea.

One story that immediately came to mind is that of Grace Darling. In 1838, during a violent storm off the Farne Islands, Grace and her father rowed through crashing waves to rescue survivors from the wrecked Forfarshire. Their courage captured the imagination of Victorian Britain, turning Grace into a national heroine and a lasting legend of the sea.

Nearly two centuries later, the RNLI continues to launch into darkness and dangerous waters to save lives around our shores. That ongoing bravery is one of the reasons I’m proud to be fundraising for them through the Mayday Mile Challenge.

My Mayday Mile Challenge

Monday 4th May

As the hawthorn blossoms and the wheel of the year turns toward summer, I’m setting out on a small but steady pilgrimage of my own.

This May, my family and I are walking in honour of the RNLI —a cause woven through our lives like a well-told story passed from one generation to the next.

I’ll be taking on the Mayday Mile: a mile each day, a quiet rhythm of footsteps offered in support of the volunteer crews who keep watch at the edges of land and sea.

For as the sun grows stronger and the coasts call people outward—to bright shores, salt air, and the pull of the tide—so too does the sea remind us of its deeper nature. With the turning season comes a rising need, and the call goes out: Mayday.

The lifeboat crews answer that call without hesitation. They launch into uncertain waters, guided by courage, skill, and a deep-rooted care for others.

If you feel called to be part of this story, you can lend your support. A gift, however small, helps keep those boats ready, those crews prepared, and those lives saved.

Will you sponsor my Mayday Mile, and stand with those who answer the sea’s call? 🌊