Ed Davey enjoys paddleboard yoga on the River Thames

Sir Ed arrived at Streatley on the River Thames which separates Oxfordshire from Berkshire on June 26 - with scorching temperatures of around 28 degrees making it a perfect day for a swim. 

Eight paddleboards were lined up in front of Yellow Hammer 1, the party's battle bus, and Henley and Thame candidate Freddie van Mierlo greeted Sir Ed as he disembarked.

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Preparing for the day's activities, Sir Ed said: “I’m actually looking forward to it. 

“I genuinely do – I want to get in that water.”

No stranger to quirky or attention-grabbing escapades on the campaign trail, Sir Ed quickly donned bright multicoloured swim shorts and a blue-grey rash vest before paddling to a floating platform in the River Thames. 

He took part in a “paddleboard yoga” class in the River Thames, between Streatley in Berkshire and Goring.

The first move was a variation of the “Table Top” pose.

The participants including Sir Ed, while on the paddleboards, manoeuvred themselves onto all fours with their left legs extended.

Sir Ed Davey enjoying his day out near Goring (Image: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire)

At the end of the short session and a series of yoga poses, Sir Ed paddled towards the riverbank lined with cameras and press.

He stood up on the paddleboard and toppled off into the Thames, with Liberal Democrat Henley and Thame candidate Freddie van Mierlo in tow.

Sir Ed described the water as “gorgeous” and asked if he could swim in it for “a bit longer”.

Elsewhere on the election campaign, Greenpeace activists climbed the Conservative battle bus in Nottinghamshire after their claims that the Tories scored worst of all parties on the environment. 

Farming minister Sir Mark Spencer denied these claims and told the PA news agency it was ironic that “I’m here in my electric rechargeable vehicle and they turned up in their diesel van to protest about the environment".

(Image: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire)

He said: “I think they made their point. I mean, I’m sympathetic to some of the points they made. You know, I think in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs we’re doing a lot to lower our carbon footprint and improve the environment.”

He said the criticism of the Tories’ record on the environment was not “fair at all”.

“We’ve made huge strides in making sure that we are both energy secure but lowering our carbon footprint as as a nation.”

A Nottinghamshire Police vehicle and two police officers appeared at the site of the Conservative campaign’s visit after the Greenpeace protesters had left.

The Tory coach left the manufacturer where the visit was due to take place before the police arrived.

The demonstrators also took their extendable ladder with them.