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If you know me at all, you will know that I like swimming! A lot! In lots of different places! But something you might not know is that my  ‘Achilles Heel’ when it comes to swimming is the water temperature... when it starts to get... cold.....! So this summer I have set 2 challenges for myself, both in far flung corners of the British Isles... where the water is beautiful... but COLD!  The first is a swim in the Outer Hebrides and the second is a 2 day swim around the Scilly Isles. Both these locations have strong, cold currents all year round  - even in the summer so they will be a real test for me.  

The Hebrides swim challenge will be around the small, uninhabited island of Wiay, to the east of Benbecula and it will be made possible with help from my friend Tom Rossi of ‘Benbecula Freedive and Fitness’.  His support, encouragement, expertise and knowledge of these small islands and sea lochs are fundamental.  Without him this challenge would not be possible. I am so incredibly thankful to him! Tom estimates that this swim (which we don’t think anyone has ever attempted before...!) should be around 12km long!

The Scilly swim challenge is organised by Swimquest and over the course of September 4th-5th I hope to swim from: St Mary’s to St Agnes, to Samson, to Bryher and then from Bryher, to Tresco, to St Martin’s and then back to St Mary’s! 15 km over 6 swims!

I have been supporting Fundraising Walks for Parkinson’s UK since 2016! These walks have included the Coast to Coast, the West Highland Way and the South Downs Way and they have all been to support my dear friends Martin and Mandi Turner and an intrepid bunch of Parkinson's sufferers. In 2019 I also swam 6km in a lake on Exmoor to raise over £700 for Parkinson's UK.

This is all because Martin has Parkinson’s.  Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition. It causes problems in the brain and gets worse over time.  Around 145, 000 people live with Parkinson’s in the UK.  It is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world and there is currently no cure. The same drug has been offered to Parkinson’s sufferers for over fifty years,  this just treats some of the symptoms with various degrees of success and it is only useful for about 5 years. So we need a breakthrough and we need it now.  Despite all of the setbacks we are all facing during this difficult time we need to keep raising awareness and raising funds towards finding a CURE for Parkinson’s.  

This is why I am attempting these long, cold swims this year so please sponsor me!  Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the Parkinson’s UK. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.