Update - August 2026

At 3am on Friday morning, I waded into the sea in darkness from the shore of Dover with one goal: to swim to France.

12 hours later, I was pulled from the water after the weather deteriorated and the sea conditions became too dangerous to continue.

When I got back on the boat, I cried. I was devastated.

A few days later, I'm still disappointed. But I'm also incredibly proud.

Two and a half years ago, I signed up to swim the English Channel despite not really knowing how to swim.

That was partly the point.

I wanted to see whether I could build the body and mindset capable of taking on one of the world's hardest open-water swims.

But I also had a reason to keep going when it stopped being fun.

My Dad suffers from myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a form of blood cancer, and I decided to use the challenge to raise money for MDS UK.

So I learned to swim.

Thousands of lengths, early mornings, weekends in Dover and plenty of setbacks later, something that had initially seemed ridiculous started to feel possible.

Friday was brutal at times. I was stung by jellyfish and sick around 30 times.

There were plenty of moments when I wanted to get on the boat.

But for 12 hours, I kept swimming. When I finally stopped, the choice wasn't mine.

I still felt like I had more to give.

More than anything, I'm grateful for the people who got me there.

My Mum and Dad have been alongside me throughout — from countless training swims in Dover to being on the boat on Friday.

And Milla has lived every part of this challenge with me — the early mornings, disappearing weekends, endless swimming chat, putting up with me deliberately gaining 8kg of body fat, and above all being an amazing mum to our son while far too often doing the job of two parents so I could disappear to Dover and swim. I couldn't have done it without her.

I'm also incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported MDS UK along the way.

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Update — October 2025 🌊

After 18 months of training, my English Channel swim window finally arrived — but the sea had other ideas.

My first tide window in mid-September was lost to high winds, and I stayed ready for a second possible slot at the start of October. But then Storm Amy rolled in, bringing rough seas and closing the season early before I had the chance to swim.

It stings, of course. But that’s part of what makes this challenge what it is — unpredictable, humbling, and always on nature’s terms.

The journey isn’t over — it’s just paused.

Everything I’ve built, physically and mentally, will carry forward into next year’s attempt. The swim will happen, and every stroke will still be for MDS UK and in honour of my dad.

Thank you to everyone who’s supported and donated so far. Your encouragement means more than you know — and I’ll keep posting updates as I get ready to finish what I started 💙

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In mid-September, I’ll be attempting one of the toughest endurance challenges in the world: swimming the English Channel — 21 miles of cold, unpredictable water — to raise money for MDS UK.

In 2022, my dad was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), a rare blood cancer where the bone marrow fails to produce enough healthy blood cells. Affecting only 5 in 100,000 people, MDS is an incredibly rare and degenerative condition, for which there is currently no cure.

Thankfully, our family has had incredible support from MDS UK, an extraordinary charity that provides invaluable help to patients like my dad — from keeping them informed about clinical trials to promoting awareness of the disease.

Any donation, big or small, will make a real difference. It will help other MDS patients get the support they need when they receive a life-changing diagnosis. Please also feel free to share this page with your teams, departments, and networks.

How training has gone?

https://youtube.com/shorts/QG2iJe23OXI?si=y6OWq50u9isztpfL

Just 18 months ago, I couldn’t swim front crawl. I started in the slow lane in the pool with a kickboard and the most basic of drills (see video) before progressing to open water.

Training has had to fit around a full time career in banking and my 15 month old son, and involved routinely waking up at 4am to start work before hitting the pool for 90 mins, and then going again after a full day of work. Weekends this summer have been spent travelling up and down the M20 to Dover, then spent face down in cold water for hours, sometimes being sick, and often battling with my own self-doubt and urges to quit. I lost a lot of those battles, but each time I evaluated why, showed up again next week, and tried again - laying the mental and physical foundation to take on the challenge of a lifetime

To date, my longest swims have been a continuous 6 hour qualifying swim in 16 degree water (whilst struggling with a stomach bug), and more recently 13 hours over a weekend (7 hours on Saturday, 6 hours on Sunday)

What is the English Channel Swim?

Swimming from England to France, non-stop. The “Everest of open-water swimming”, crossing from England to France means:

-21 miles of open water – but tides often make it even longer.

-No wetsuit allowed – just a swimsuit, cap, and goggles.

-Freezing temperatures – around 18°C, risking hypothermia.

-Unpredictable conditions – strong tides, waves, and sudden weather changes.

-16–20 hours of nonstop swimming – no touching the boat or land until I finish.

-Marine life – jellyfish stings and the occasional curious seal.

-High failure rate – only about 40–50% of attempts succeed each year