I'm swimming the length of Lake Windermere (17km) without a wetsuit on 2nd September, in support of Lilly’s Legacy Voluntary Cat Rescue. Based in Stoke Newington, London, Lilly's Legacy takes in stray and feral cats, giving them medical care while acclimatising them with humans before finding homes for them.

Amanda Straughan who runs the shelter full-time on a 24-hour basis, is an astonishingly selfless human being, devoted to her 15 year old autistic son and the relentless care of up to 18 cats and kittens at her home. She is not yet registered as a charity but any and all money she has goes into Lilly's Legacy, to feed, care for, vaccinate, chip and neuter the cats she rescues.

Our lovely cat Molly came from Amanda and we do what we can to support Lilly's Legacy. Cat food, cat litter and medical care all costs a lot of money and Amanda is always in need of financial support or donations of cat food/litter from her Amazon wishlist.

Swimming 17km is a vast undertaking - I expect it to take me 8-9 hours. Needless to say I have been training hard and now in July, my 'long swim' each weekend is 5-6 hours.

Please help me to support Lilly's Legacy and give Amanda some peace of mind and much needed funds to carry on her great work.