Has anyone paddleboarded every canal in the UK? Meet Dr Daisy Best

Dr Daisy Best is on an ambitious and inspiring mission to paddleboard every navigable canal across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Combining endurance, curiosity and a deep love of canals.

Transcript
I started paddleboarding before COVID. I had a lesson with a friend of mine. It was her birthday and I bought her a voucher for for a birthday present and decided I've got to go with her on this on this lesson. Absolutely loved it. Then COVID struck and then after that I bought a paddleboard in about 2021.
My name is Daisy Best and we're at the basin of the Coventry Canal. I'm paddleboarding every canal in the UK. That includes England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. I'm doing it over however long it takes. So, I'm just paddling whenever I can. Each canal and every little bit of each canal. So, every branch of each canal as well.
I think my biggest challenge is the coast-to-coast from Liverpool to Goole. And the reason why it was such a challenge is because at that point I'd never paddled for two weeks in a row before. You know, I'd never done that and I didn't know if I could manage it. So, it was more of a psychological challenge like can I complete this? Lots of people sponsored me, lots of people supported me and it was that bit that made it the challenge.
It actually doesn't really take a great deal of motivation because I love being on the canals. So, it's a pleasure. It's an absolute joy. And I guess what I like when I whenever I take anything up, I always like to do a challenge. I always like to sort of aim for something. So ticking off, you know, each canal, highlighting it in the books and the maps that like is a massive motivation.
What I love is that there is everchanging scenery and so yes, you can get into a very busy sort of city area and there are lots of interesting buildings and sometimes there's litter and sometimes I collect bits of litter and help out to clear up. But you can also be in the most magical countryside. Beautiful up on the Pennines. Some amazing locks and the history. Canal boats, the canal boaters. There is everything to love. Kingfishers, I'd never seen a kingfisher before until I started paddleboarding on canals. Just all the wildlife, the birds, the trees, the colours in autumn. I mean, it's just magical. I was paddleboarding on the Huddersfield Canal in October and it was stunning. The colours, the light like oh... I see a canal and I get butterflies in my stomach. I love them.
It's really important for anybody who wants to take up paddleboarding to have a lesson. I think that's the most important thing. Have a lesson. Learn about safety. People might look at me and say, "Wow, you got this PFD on. You've got all of this kit on." but actually, you don't know what's in the water. You don't know what is going to happen next. And so for me, I'm always prepared. And a lot of that has come from learning from other people. So I think having a lesson is really, really important. And make sure you've got the right kit for the weather. In fact, no, it's not just the weather, it's for the temperature of the water. So yeah, today isn't too bad, but the water in there will be a lot colder.
Once you have a Canal & River Trust license, you can paddle anywhere. So you just get on and off you go. So for me, they're brilliant for people who are still quite new to paddleboarding. They're great for people who want to build up their miles and you know perhaps race or go quicker on a you know on a paddleboard. For me they're good they're good training grounds for people who want to race. They're great for everybody.

I'm just paddling whenever I can. Each canal and every little bit of each canal."

Dr Daisy Best

Who is Dr Daisy Best and why is she paddleboarding our canals?

Daisy’s challenge celebrates the diversity of our canal network and the powerful connection between water, wellbeing and adventure.

Based in North Yorkshire, Daisy is a counselling psychologist who works with people who have experienced trauma. Away from her professional life, she can most often be found on the water, paddle in hand, exploring canals both familiar and unknown.

"I have paddleboarded regularly since I bought my first paddleboard in 2021 and I absolutely love paddleboarding canals. I have a chapter in Jo Moseley’s third book; 'Adventures on the Water; the Power of Paddleboarding to Change Lives' which is about paddleboarding on canals. I go paddleboarding as often as I can, usually at my local club."

Dr. Daisy Best paddleboarding on the Coventry Canal

What inspired a coast-to-coast canal paddleboarding journey?

Daisy’s canal challenge grew from a two‑week paddleboard journey in 2023, when she travelled coast to coast from Liverpool to Goole. Covering more than 160 miles along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the Aire & Calder Navigation, the experience transformed how she saw canal paddling.

"After two weeks, I fell in love with canal paddling and decided I would set myself a challenge (I like to do that) and when I realised that nobody else has paddleboarded every canal in the UK and Ireland, I decided this would become my challenge."

How does paddleboarding on canals support mental health and wellbeing?

Daisy’s paddleboarding journey is about far more than distance. As a psychologist, she is passionate about raising awareness of mental health and the benefits of spending time on water.

“I love the freedom of being out on the water, being able to see the world from a different perspective, often uninterrupted. I love the connections I have made with other paddleboarders, with people on or alongside the canals that I paddle and I also love paddleboarding on my own. I find it a way to connect to nature and to connect to myself as I find it a very mindful activity where I am tuning into the environment, wildlife, sounds, buildings, greenery, mountains, trees, industry and the bridges. There is always so much to see and as I do this, I can hear the water lapping against my paddleboard and I just feel at home.”