Alex Ellis-Roswell’s round Britain and Ireland trek visits Tighnabruaich

Having set off from Kent he is walking clockwise around the country.  He has already covered the south and west coasts of England and Wales, and has circumnavigated Ireland.  In Scotland he has visited all the west coast stations from Kippford in the borders up the Firth of Clyde to his present location here in Tighnabruaich.

To visit all 238 RNLI stations will see him walk 9,500 miles around the UK coastline whilst fundraising for the RNLI.

He has already raised over £25000 and was able to pay the Tighnabruaich RNLI Treasurer £120 for his last leg of the walk.

Alex said: 'I’m not one for breaking records or being the fastest or anything like that, but I have met some wonderful people and amazing volunteer crews along the way, and I love the ‘craic’ at each place I visit.'

Alex first started his journey on 3 August 2014 with an aim to raise as much money as possible for the RNLI, on what he anticipates will be a four-year project. With some estimated 20 million footsteps, the walk will see him pass through 64 counties and 8 national parks, visiting every lifeboat station along the way.  Alex said whilst looking at station locations with the crew that 'covering the coastline and islands of Scotland during the winter will be one of the toughest things I have ever done.'

The 23-year old from Margate in Kent wears out a pair of walking boots every 800 miles and has clocked up 5000 miles around the coastline so far.  He takes the opportunity in the places he visits to talk to school children and other young people groups such as the Scouts or Duke of Edinburgh Scheme candidates.

After the passing of his father, Sir Raymond Ellis, at Christmas in 2013, Alex decided to walk the entire coast of Great Britain.  He sold his business, gave up his flat and somewhat comfortable lifestyle, and set off on the journey of a lifetime.  Before ill health, his father had spent much of his life dedicated to charity work and fundraising, which spurred Alex on to set himself a goal of raising £10,000 for the RNLI.

Throughout his journey, Alex has been fortunate enough to experience generous hospitality and help from a number of RNLI supporters and crews, many providing him with food, drinks and sometimes a bed for the night, to which he is as grateful to them as the RNLI is to him.  Without people like Alex and the thousands of supporters and fundraisers up and down the country, the RNLI could not do what it does; save lives at sea.

The RNLI operates 236 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland and relies entirely on volunteers and donations to save an average of 23 lives per day. Its volunteers often get called heroes, however the real heroes are the people like Alex and the many other donors and fundraisers who continue to go to extremes to allow the volunteer crew members go out to sea in all weathers, to save lives.

Alex with one of the station fund raising volunteers Aileen Willoughby

If you see Alex on your travels, with his recognisable yellow jacket, bulging backpack, umbrella, and RNLI collection tin, please give him your support, encouragement and a donation. 

You can follow Alex’s journey around the UK by visiting his facebook page www.facebook.com/alexellisroswell or donate by visiting www.bt.com/donatetolifeboats

RNLI media contacts:

Donald Clark, Tighnabruaich RNLI Station Press Officer, 07799661493, [email protected] [email protected]

Henry Weaver, RNLI Press Officer for Scotland, 01738 642986, 07771 943026,
[email protected]

Richard Smith, RNLI Public Relations Manager for Scotland, 01738 642956, 07786 668903, [email protected]

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.