I’m hoping to swim the 11 miles of England’s longest lake - Windermere. 🏊‍♂️

I tried three years ago and it got cancelled on the day due to a storm that never showed. I’m back to scratch that itch.

It remains an intimidating swim (five to six hours for me) and I’m not getting any younger!! …but I’m committed…

Why I’m doing it

I’m swimming for my daughter, Kate. She was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis last year. It’s an awful disease that many people know little about.

People are typically diagnosed in their mid-teens. A flare emerges that can’t be controlled. On the first visit they are told the “good news” - that there’s an ultimate cure… “removal of your colon to fit a stoma bag”.

You never want to hear that - and certainly not at 16. And there are many other lifelong complications.

Kate now has regular infusions of a new drug to stop the painful flares. We’re so grateful for the ingenuity of those who developed it and the others she will need to move on to.

I’m raising money for Crohn’s & Colitis UK. They support those with the illness - and they fund research that has led to critical breakthroughs.

Please help if you can 😊.

The swim is 6 September. And I’m also doing a 10km swim down the Thames at Oxford in early August as a warm up to the main event. Two for the price of one!!

Oh, and my employer Fidelity will generously match your donations.

P.S. that’s me with Kate, doing one of her trademark novel photobombs. 😜

About Crohn’s & Colitis UK

Around 500,000 people in the UK are living with a lifelong disease that many people have never heard of. And the real number could be almost double that.

Because of the stigma and misunderstanding surrounding these diseases, thousands of people are suffering in silence. But they’re not alone.

We’re working to improve diagnosis and treatment, and to fund research into a cure; to raise awareness and to give people hope, comfort and confidence to live freer, fuller lives.