Couple 'on target' to visit every lifeboat station

A Surrey couple who are attempting to visit all 238 RNLI lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland are a quarter of the way through their challenge.

Allan and Helen Thornhill, from Smallfield, are raising funds for the life-saving charity which celebrated its 200th anniversary earlier this year.

On reaching their 60th lifeboat station in Blyth in Northumberland Mr Thornhill said they were "on target" to complete the challenge in summer 2026.

The couple said the experience so far has been "inspirational, emotional at times, but also extremely educational".

Since the beginning of June the pair have visited Kent, Sussex, Essex, Suffolk Norfolk, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Edinburgh and most recently Northumberland.

They say they are are doing the challenge on and off over a period of two years to fit around work commitments.

Mr Thornhill said: "Craster in Northumberland was stunning scenery and we were treated so well at the station.

"In Hunstanton in Norfolk we were invited to spend a couple of hours in the operations room, which was great."

The couple are visiting the RNLI 200 exhibition at Chatham Historic Dockyard, Kent, on Saturday and will be meeting members of the lifeboat enthusiast society there.

They are heading to mid and north Wales in October, followed by Lancashire, Cumbria, and Dumfries and Galloway.

Ms Thornhill said: "We have a long way to go, but are getting such a great insight into the work of this amazing charity."

The couple have so far raised more than £600 for the RNLI.

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, on X. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.