About the swim

Viva! team Juliet Gellatley, Andy Cox, Rhiannon Buck, Veronika Charvatova, Ash George and Rose Alexander are mad! Mad about animals and saving our natural world! They are risking the freezing cold waters of Lake Windermere in the Lake District to raise funds for Viva!’s campaigns. Despite being scared and well out of their comfort zone they have vowed to swim a mile on Sunday 24 June 2012, as part of the British Gas Great North Swim.

So why are these brave lot doing it? Andy explains: “Well… it’s a great personal challenge. I’ve never done anything like this before, including getting dressed in rubber… and it’s all to help the animals. In this case, there’s a very real chance they’ll have to help me before the end of the swim! You know those stories about dolphins rescuing people? Well, I hope carp, pike or perch can rise to the occasion too. I’m already in training by getting as cold as possible as often as possible. But still, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It’s going to be a close call this one though. I’m looking forward to the challenge very much, and it’s for a great cause! Pour in that sponsor money!”

Rhiannon signed up for the swim last year on a warm sunny day when the prospect of jumping in a lake sounded like a bit of summer fun. She tells Viva!life: “At that point, the swim was far away on the horizon and I felt fairly blasé about the whole affair. However I don’t feel that way now! I get out of breath climbing the stairs. I’ve started training, and have been swimming up to an hour fairly regularly, but I have a long way to go.

“Swimming seems a lot harder than I remembered, and I’ve been told with some authority that wild swimming is much physically tougher than doing a few lengths at the local indoor pool. Firstly, there’s the cold to contend with. Secondly, my wetsuit is 10 years old and is made for surfing not swimming, so it is thick and restrictive. It’s going to be a lot tougher than I imagined, but I’m willing to brave cold water, gungy mud, blood sucking leaches and physical exhaustion to help raise money for Viva!’s vital campaigns!!!”

Veronika adds: “Yes, the challenge for me will definitely be to endure the cold waters of the lake but this is a great opportunity for me to help raise funds for Viva!’s hard-hitting campaigns saving lots of animal lives while pushing my limits.”

Rose enthuses: “This will be an incredible challenge for me! I haven’t swam since school. Being the youngest of the Viva! staff, you’d think I’d be fitter than everyone else?! Wrong! This swim is going to be such a tough one, but I will love it and embrace it with all my heart, even if the rest of me turns blue in the process!”

Finally, a plea from the heart from Juliet! “I do question my sanity taking on this challenge, after all it is voluntary. I am a rubbish swimmer and on holiday always take a lilo in the water! I’m doing this in the hope that Viva! Supporters will take pity on us and sponsor us so we can raise funds for our animal campaigns which are so crucial for the world. I’m also looking forward to looking really sexy in my wet suit, swimming cap and goggles. It’s a look!”

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