Janet and Liz are taking on an extraordinary challenge: a 3,000m open-water swim across the Arctic Circle, through the Torne River between Finland and Sweden, to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity. They’ll be swimming just after midnight in the bright Nordic summer night, crossing not only an international border, but also the Arctic Circle and a time zone — literally swimming back in time.

What's more, this time last year, neither of them could swim front crawl, instead swimming breast-stroke with their heads out of the water at all times. They've both challenged themselves to firstly learn to swim breaststroke head-down, and then to learn front crawl over the winter. They're working on tumble-turns next!

This challenge is deeply personal for Janet. Her husband Fergus was diagnosed with a brain tumour in September 2018 and told he had just five years to live. Since then, he has undergone two awake craniotomy operations and 12 weeks of radiotherapy — and has defied the odds by still being here today. Fergus and Janet have three daughters (triplets) who are now 20 years old, and Fergus longs to see them finish university and grow into young women. Janet and Liz are swimming in the hope that a cure can be found in Fergus’s lifetime, and in support of all families affected by brain tumours.

Janet and Liz met in 2023 through their shared love of cold-water swimming at Ilkley Lido and quickly became firm friends. A spontaneous cold-water swimming trip to the Lake District sealed their friendship, and they now swim together two to three times a week — in the River Wharfe at Otley, Ilkley Lido, Chellow Dean, or wherever they can find outdoor water. They are SO excited (and a little nervous!) to be taking on this unforgettable Arctic challenge, and every donation will help fund vital research, support patients and families, and bring us closer to a cure.

By supporting this swim, you’re helping to give hope — hope for Fergus, his daughters, and everyone living with a brain tumour.

The Brain Tumour Charity is the world's leading brain tumour charity and the largest dedicated funder of research into brain tumours globally. Committed to saving and improving lives, we're moving further, faster to help every single person affected by a brain tumour.

We're set on finding new treatments, offering the highest level of support and driving urgent change. And we're doing it right now. Because we understand that when you, or someone you love, is diagnosed with a brain tumour a cure really can't wait.