A FATHER and daughter have completed an epic adventure walking from London to Bolton along canals.

Lucy Hopkins, aged 38, and her father Ian, aged 67, finished their more than 300 mile walk last month, travelling from their Limehouse home in London's East End, to Bolton, where they were both born.

As part of their adventure they stopped in Loughborough in Leicestershire, where Lucy was brought up.

They started their journey in February, 2012, walking from Limehouse to Camden Lock, and from there rambled northwards, taking two to three day stints over the next five years, whenever they could find time.

"We started off walking just for fun and to do something when we saw each other, rather than going out for dinner," said Lucy, who is a performer, regularly touring across Europe.

"We did it little by little, and would always pick up exactly where we left off to ensure that we walked the whole way.

"It was a bit of a pilgrimage back to our roots."

On completing the walk, the duo relaxed with a steak meal and went for a drink at Ye Olde Man and Scythe pub, where Ian used to enjoy a pint in his youth.

Ian, a management consultant, was raised in Tonge Moore and Bromley Cross, and attended Bolton School.

He is also a member of Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Society, and wrote a short book about the canal's history while in the sixth form.

Ian and Lucy also took some time during their well earned rest to visit family and friends in Bolton, and walked around places that Lucy remembered from childhood.

"It was great to see some of those places from my memories," Lucy said.

"Both of my parents and all our family are from Bolton, so it really a place of proper family heritage."

Along their journey, the pair saw dozens of incredible sights, from extraordinary British wildlife to an octogenarian folk band near Lichfield.

Walking along Regent's, Grand Union, Soar Navigation, Trent and Mersey, Bridgewater, and Manchester Bolton and Bury canals they came across relics of the industrial past, including one of the longest canal tunnels in the UK, Manchester warehouses and Stoke pottery kilns.

They also passed three Premier League football grounds, Leicester City, Stoke City and Manchester United, delighting Ian who is a huge football and Bolton Wanderers fan.

"Each stretch of the canal has been really different and there are some really beautiful parts," Lucy said.

"It was really interesting trekking the country, going deep into England.

"It has been great to spend time together and we are really proud."