Trying to mark my 40th in the way I know best - swimming!

I had originally always had it in my mind that I wanted to try to swim Loch Ness (23 miles, freshwater, COLD) the summer that I turned 40 so had been looking for pilots and was able to confirm one for the last week of August! Raising funds for Aspire as part of this swim is especially meaningful for me as Aspire was my introduction to my Channel Relay team from back in 2015 which lead me to reuniting and doing an unofficial Loch Ness Solo with most of the relay in 2018. During this trip, I spent a lot of time with fellow relay member, Kelvin Davies, whose excitement about an upcoming Channel Solo he wanted to attempt inspired me to sign up for my own Channel Solo. Sadly, Kelvin has passed and was never able to make that a reality however I know that Aspire was a charity that was also very close to his heart. Now, I feel the need to honour the circle of completing a Channel Relay, Loch Ness Relay, Channel Solo and (hopefully) Loch Ness Solo.

In addition, I had put myself on a waitlist 4 years ago to try to swim the Strait of Gibraltar the summer before I was scheduled to swim the Channel. Then, COVID hit amongst other things, and I had written off the ability to do that swim. Then recently, I got a surprise that my time on the waitlist was up for summer 2024 and I just couldn't pass it up. I'm planning on doing this swim the last week of June tandem with someone very close to my Channel Solo experience so am very excited about this iconic crossing.

And lastly, the flagship Aspire swim from Sealand! This is a relatively new swim and I had seen a documentary about the Principality of Sealand and had always thought it would be an incredible place to visit. Well, I've found a way to do even better and will be swimming from Sealand to the Mainland in early September. Aspire has been crucial to opening up this swim to the community and I am excited to be amongst the first few years of swimmers.

I know this is a lot to take on, especially when I will have a body that is newly in my 40s but I really hope I can dig deep and accomplish the goals of this year. I would be grateful for every single £ of support that you can provide to Aspire and no donation is too big or small!

Thank you for reading my page and please give generously to the charity that has helped lead me to find my swimming story.