A 15ft inflatable duck will make its way through Bourne End and Marlow on Thursday, July 4 as part of a charitable trek.

Fronted by former Henley resident Timothy Dodd-Wilson and his friend Ros Fernley, the two will take their homemade raft which will have Lily the Duck on, from Wargrave in Reading to Teddington in South West London before heading back to Berkshire.

This is the second half of their epic journey across England, as the duo set off to ‘sea’ on June 15 from Wargrave to Lechlade in Gloucestershire, before returning to the village on June 28.

The two then started their travels to Teddington on July 2 and hope to return home by the time the Henley Festival takes place on July 13.

All the money raised from the journey will be donated to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and currently, Timothy and Ros have raised £3,481.69.

Mr Dodd-Wilson told the Bucks Free Press: “My friend and I were in Holland a few years ago at a festival which was very similar to Glastonbury, where there were loads of Citroen 2CVs, and over there they call them ducks.

"And when we were there, we just saw this massive, yellow inflatable one and I said, 'I don’t care how we do it, I’m taking that home with me'.

“Since then, we’ve taken it out on the rivers where we have got lots of attention from people, but it then occurred to me that a bit of good could come from this.

“So, I thought it’d be a good idea to try and raise money for charity when we go rafting with the duck, as that way we’re enjoying ourselves but we are raising awareness at the same time.”

The current voyage is in memory of the those who lost their lives in the Penlee Lifeboat Disaster in 1981.

The tragedy took place on December 18 of that year at Mount’s Bay, Cornwell, when eight people on the Union Star were stranded at sea.

This led to eight members from the Solomon Browne Lifeboat crew to go out a complete the rescue, but due to heavy seas, all 16 people lost their lives.

And for Mr Dodds-Wilson, who witnessed the disaster 38 years ago, his target of £5,000 for the RNLI is something he aims to achieve.

He plans to reach his target by the time the Henley Festival arrives.

He said: “Big Duck (Lily) and I want to help raise money and awareness for the brave volunteers who put their lives on the line to keep the UK’s seas and waterways safe.

“If you take a flight, a ferry, or just a walk on the beach, you may one day need their help.

“I’ve been rafting for 30 years so I’m equipped for this journey. We will have a little shed we’ll be living in with a bunk-bed, and we’ll have an outhouse too.

“And if we get to a bridge that is to small for the duck to go under, we will have to deflate her but don’t worry, it only takes about 10 minutes!”

If you would like to donate to Big Duck’s Big Adventure, visit their Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bigducksbigadventure.