Skegness RNLI volunteers go underground for latest '200' challenge

Brad Johnson and Nick Walton after visiting 205 tube stations across London in 17 hours as part of their '200' challenge.

Brad Johnson and Nick Walton visited 205 tube stations across London in 17 hours, much to the surprise of passengers.

Wearing full all-weather lifeboat kit, including helmets and lifejackets, the intrepid pair started their journey from Tower RNLI Lifeboat Station, heading to the closest tube station for the first departure of the day.

In January, the four River Thames lifeboat stations celebrated 20 years of search and rescue on the

Brad checking in from London during the latest '200' chgallenge.

tidal river so, as part of the bicentennial challenge series, Brad and Nick decided to undertake one in the capital to coincide with this.

Brad Johnson said: "‘I’ve seen the full challenge be completed so many times and it just made sense to try and complete 200 stations.

"The hardest part was wearing the full lifeboat kit underground for 17 hours, but that’s all part of the fun!

"It was fantastic to meet the RNLI crews from Chiswick, Teddington, Tower, and Gravesend. Meeting

other crew from the RNLI family is always a pleasure and it was fantastic to learn how their river operations differ from what we do at Skegness."

Nick commented: "The challenge went well, we completed 205 tube stations yesterday in 17 hours, we have also visited the 4 London Themes stations over the weekend."

Brad and Nick are undertaking a series of ‘200’ themed challenges between 2022 and 2024. Each are promised to involve fitness and endurance, with some "a little silly" and the rest "just downright odd".

Skegness RNLI Lifeboat Station has served the Lincolnshire coastline since 1827. Today, two lifeboats cover one of the East Coast’s busiest beaches and surrounding areas.

The RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crews provide a 24-hour rescue service in the UK and Ireland, and their seasonal lifeguards look after people on busy beaches.

RNLI crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives since 1824 but they are more than a rescue service. They influence, supervise and educate people too.

Their Community Safety teams explain the risks and share safety knowledge with anyone going out to sea or to the coast.

Brad added that they got a great response from the public and fellow emergency workers in the capital, increasing their JustGiving total to more than £1,000 for the charity.

Ticket to ride - Brad during the 200 challenge through the London Underground network.

He said: "We got lots of stares as you can probably imagine. There are two brightly-dressed yellow people with life jackets on in a place where there's not much water.

"The reaction couldn't have been any more positive. We had families coming up to us asking to have pictures with us.

"We got some great opportunities to chat about water safety with them about how they can stay safe both on the river but also by the sea when they go on holiday."

All challenges can be found at: https://lifeboatfundraising.org.uk/200To make a donation visit JustGiving at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rnli200