Daredevil couple Helen Glover and Steve Backshall warmed up in the tropical heat of the Eden Project in advance of their epic paddle in aid of the Borneo rainforest.  

This Easter, Olympic champion rower Helen and TV wildlife presenter Steve will be kayaking 125 miles non-stop from Devizes in Wiltshire to the Houses of Parliament at Westminster in the classic DW race.

They are racing to raise funds to protect a section of rainforest in Malaysian Borneo, saving it from being cut down to make way for oil palm plantations and safeguarding a wealth of threatened wildlife.

They got a taste for the heat and humidity of the rainforest at Eden by hauling a two-seater kayak through the treetops over the new canopy rope bridge and cloud bridge, part of the ’Weather Maker’ section of the rainforest canopy walkway.

Steve said: ’We’re putting ourselves through hell training for it but it’s all for a very good cause.

’World Land Trust are helping us buy a section of Bornean rainforest, saving it for the proboscis monkeys, the orang-utans, the pygmy elephants and all the other astounding animals that live there.’

More about the project and the World Land Trust at www.worldlandtrust.org