Once more I'll be taking to the chilly sea water of my beloved home town of Brightlingsea. I will be attempting the Arctic Polar Bear Challenge, swimming 3000m every month between November and March.

Any money I raise will be going to the Brightlingsea Winterfest Wellbeing Fund which began its life in 2014, following the suicide of a well-known local musician after a long battle with depression. A group of his friends decided to hold a small concert in his memory. The event was designed to raise spirits and boost the town’s sense of community.

The first WinterFest took place in 2015 – a four-day music and arts festival run by volunteers at at different venues around Brightlingsea. It raised over £2,000 for Mind UK and has since gone on to raise thousands more for Mid and North East Essex Mind, a self-funded subsidiary of Mind UK. Since 2019 the event puts most of the money it raises into the WinterFest Wellbeing Fund, which aims to boost physical and mental wellbeing.

Find out more about Winterfest and the Wellbeing Fund

For more about the Polar Bear challenge and exactly what my challenge involves, as well as to read updates of each swim please visit my website .