XR River Wharfe feature

As autumn starts to turn to winter most people prefer to hibernate indoors - but not Emmeline and Mark Butler. The couple, from Grassington, have challenged themselves to walk 81 miles along the River Wharfe to raise awareness of the importance of clean rivers.

Yorkshire Evening Post 5th Nov 2025

Supported by the Great UK WaterBlitz, Emmeline and Mark are testing the water quality at varying points of the river along their route.

Emmeline said: “Water quality often depends on the recent weather conditions and when you're testing it but it all does build a picture.

“We’re interested to see how that changes as we go downstream.”

We’ve had some wonderful conversations with people that we’ve met and it’s been heartening to talk to so many people who want to do something to help our river because it means so much to them.

Our society expects everyone to conform, so rebelling against that takes you outside your comfort zone every time you do it.

Yorkshire Evening Post 26th Dec 2025

gerard@objective.uk.com