For the love of wild places

By Kenny Stocker 19 May 2026

From SUP beginner to coastal adventurer, Ben Boxer hiked and paddled 758km along UK coastlines, beach cleaning as he went. Here is how adventure with purpose works.

Blending stand up paddleboarding, hiking and wild camping, Ben Boxer shows how anyone with a love for the outdoors can get out there. Here Ben finds adventure with purpose along the UK's coastlines.

Getting on board

Originally the word 'amateur' meant 'one who loves'. It's the word to describe Ben. His passion for the outdoors, undeterred by his newness on the water, inspired him to hike and paddle 758km while clearing rubbish along the UK coastline.

Coastal trash collecting — Ben's beach cleaning activity has removed 758.7kg worth of rubbish off the local coastline in support of the Marine Conservation Society.

"I was new to stand up paddleboarding at the start of the year," he says, "but I soon got to grips with the technique and started to fall in love with seeing my home from the water."

Equipped with his Longshore touring board, affectionately named Tilly, Ben combined hiking, bivvying and paddling into what he calls "from-the-door amphibious adventures." With a board on his back and public transport linking routes, the barrier to adventure shrank.

"It's been a great excuse to spend so much time doing the things I love in local nature," he explains, "whilst raising some money to support those working to restore health to our blue isle."

Immersed in the outdoors

Travelling slowly by paddleboard brought a new perspective. At around 5km/h, the journey became as important as the destination.

"It's forced me to be more aware of winds and tides and given me a deeper respect for the sea than ever before," Ben reflects.

The rewards came in moments of pure immersion: paddling beneath starling murmurations, watching sunrise over the Seven Sisters, and encountering wildlife up close. "No two paddles have been the same," Ben shared. "I was often greeted by energetic and charismatic species like fulmar, kittiwake, oystercatchers, terns, mullet and curious seals, and even a couple of fleeting sightings of porpoise and otter."

His trip along the Jurassic Coast pushed things further: a two-day, 70km paddle linked by clifftop wild camps under star-filled skies.

For the love of the outdoors

Spending so much time immersed in the outdoors has sharpened Ben's awareness of both its beauty and its fragility. Through his adventure, Ben cleared 758kg of coastal rubbish, often alongside local people equally invested in protecting these places.

"I've found unexpected joy and purpose in cleaning beaches whilst engaging with a local community," he says.

Ben's journey is a reminder that the best adventures are amateur at heart. Fed by a desire to explore the places we love, Ben shows how we can turn every hike, paddle or night under the stars into something that gives back.

Read the full story of Ben's 758km coastal mission.