Four years, 25,000 miles and two oceans later, Sarah Outen tells Kieran Davey about those adventures and the next challenge she faces

It has taken 25,000 miles, but Sarah Outen has finally found a decent cup of tea.

After more than four years travelling, the globetrotter is now back at home recovering, with time to reflect on her adventures.

The record-breaker, from Chilton, travelled around the world using her kayak and bicycle, before finishing two weeks ago by kayaking underneath Tower Bridge.

She was inspired to take on the challenge after rowing across the Indian Ocean from Australia to Mauritius in 2009.

On being back home, Miss Outen said: “It feels really good to be back. I’ve been away for such a long time, it feels like I’ve been running on adrenaline for the last few months.

“I took on the challenge because I’ve always wanted to find out what oceans are out there, and to find out more about people living around the world.

“I’ve never really thought in terms of records, but emotionally the time I have invested has been amazing.

“It hasn’t been too hard being back home, but after being on my own for so long, when I first arrived I could find it hard being in big groups. I’m finally getting to cook more as well, I’m always in the kitchen now using different ingredients.

“I’ve been on my own for a while now so I’m back catching up on life. It’s good to catch up on sleep, I’m finally getting nine hours in.”

The trip was not always plain-sailing, though. When Miss Outen was kayaking across the Atlantic Ocean she had to be rescued by a passing boat after hearing reports of a hurricane passing across the sea.

Back on dry land, top of her do-to list will be marrying her partner Lucy Allen, 29, whom she proposed to in 2013 while in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The 30-year-old, originally from Leicestershire, said: “We’d been going out for six or seven months and we had talked about getting married. But after 66 days on my own I decided to phone her up and propose, but I had to do it twice because she didn’t hear me the first time.”

For the next few months, though, she will be writing a book on her travels, called Dare To Do, which is due to be released next May.

She said: “I need to have written the book by the end of January, so I’ve been getting all the materials together, journals and maps, that I’ll need.”

“I feel now that I’m more mature, and I appreciate more of the important things in life.

“I can’t help but feel humbled, I’ve met lots of people who live different lives. It’s so eye-opening.

“The attention since I got back has been so full on, when I got back to London I spent the whole afternoon doing interviews. It was all a bit of a blur.”

During her journey, Miss Outen – thought to be the first woman to row solo across the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean – has raised more than £50,000 for charity. Those helped include CoppaFeel!, MNDA, WaterAid and the Jubilee Sailing Trust.

After getting hitched next year, Miss Outen said her long-term aim would be to set up an adventure farm for young children.

She said: “It will get kids outside so everyone has the same chance as I have had.

“It will mean that these children get positive experiences of being outdoors instead of being inside.”