SALCOMBE RNLI lifeboat station welcomed Adam Short as he continued on his epic 6,600-mile trek around the British coastline.

Adventurer Adam, 42, started his journey from Southampton on March 6, 2014, and had completed all but the last few hundred miles when he arrived in Salcombe on Monday morning.

He has visited all the RNLI lifeboat stations as he has made his way round the 10,622-kilometre route, and is raising money for the RNLI and Save the Children.

'I just wondered if it was possible', said Adam, when asked why he decided to undertake the challenge. 'I wanted to see if I could do it.'

He said that the South West Coast Path had been the most challenging of the thousands of miles he had already travelled, due to the terrain, and he was looking forward to a bath and a few days off when he gets back to Southampton.

Adam is blogging about his journey as he goes and is planning to write a book about the experience, once he's had a few days to recover. As of Monday, Adam had been on his trek for 494 days, camping on his way around the British coastline.

During minus 12C (10.4F) weather in Scotland, Adam's tent had 'died' and he was sheltering under just a tarpaulin. As he made his way around Scotland just before Christmas, he received a birthday present – a new tent.

'It was lucky because through Wales and England, there are no trees along the coastline, so the tarp would have been useless with nothing to string it up to', Adam said.

All Adam's kit, which is all squeezed into a hiking backpack, includes a Canadian pack raft or inflatable kayak, that he has lovingly named Hoolley, which he uses for crossing rivers, streams and the Scottish lochs, although the saltwater has taken its toll and its metal pieces are getting to the end of their life.

'If there is a bridge less than two miles inland, then I'll walk to that, if not, Hoolley comes out and I paddle across,' said Adam.

Hoolley is one of the few remaining original items in his pack from when he started over a year ago, along with his mug and saucepan. He has made his way through nine pairs of boots, four rucksacks and three tents.

Adam has also been in situations where he has run out of food, relying on foraging for edible plants and shellfish on the way. 'If I could work out how to make dandelion and burdock beer I'd be set!' he joked.

'Everyone has been amazing on the way,' said Adam, before reinforcing the RNLI campaign to Respect the Water. 'I was caught out once and capsized the boat, a number of things all happened in the space of a second and I suddenly was in the water.

'I was caught out by the tide once too at Morecombe Bay. I knew the tide was coming in, but I thought "I can make it to there before the tide gets there". I didn't. A wave came rushing in and almost came up to my knees, I had to run the last bit.

'You really have to be aware of the tide times and the tide levels.'

While hiking the coast, Adam regularly posts blogs, photos and produces short videos on his smartphone, bringing followers of the challenge closer to the action and raising awareness about sea safety.

Adam's next step was Dartmouth RNLI station, before heading on to Brixham, Teignmouth and Exmouth stations on his way back to Southampton.

When he has finished this challenge, he already has his mind set on paddle-boarding the Nile from its source, or as close to the source and he can get, the 4,238-miles until it joins the Mediterranean Sea.

To follow Adam's progress and donate to his selected charities, visit his website uk-coastal-trek.com, find him on Facebook: UK Coastal Trek, Twitter: @AdamDShort or @SoYou_Me. You can also visit his JustGiving page: http://www.justgiving.com/UKCoastalTrek/">www.justgiving.com/UKCoastalTrek/.

Short films filmed and edited on his mobile phone can also be seen by visiting his YouTube channel: YouTube.com/UKCoastalTrek.

Salcombe RNLI are also always on the look out for volunteers, even for a few hours a week. If you can help, call 01548 842158.