Three lakes challenge sees swimmer tackle length of Loch Awe

A grandmother will take on the length of Loch Awe this weekend, swimming its 24 miles in full as part of a 48-hour challenge on her first ever visit to Scotland.

 

Despite, recently recovering from a chest infection, Madeline Raymond will tackle an epic challenge incorporating the three lakes that are the longest in England, Scotland and Wales respectively on Sunday July 23.

 

This will be the first recorded time that the challenge will be attempted, with Loch Awe the first leg of her 38-mile effort that will also involve swimming Lake Windermere (10.5 miles) and Lake Bala (3.5 miles).

 

The Essex native will first enter the water at Torran Bay at Loch Awe's south end, having never previously swam for 12 hours or more in water temperatures below 13 degrees.

 

This first swim will start at 4am and Madeline is estimating that she should be able to swim the three lakes and drive between them in 36 hours, giving herself 48 hours if needed.

 

The challenge is the culmination of two years of preparation, with a fundraising effort for Motor Neuron Disorder and Combat Stress the main driving factor behind the challenge.

 

"I was kayaking in Lake Windermere with one of my friends and it made me wonder if it would swimmable", explained Madeline.

 

"As far as I know, no one had done the three lakes back-to-back and I entered this challenge not knowing anything about piloting. I had to organise all the logistics, the record ratification requirements and put together a support crew."

 

Madeline is an experienced swimmer and has faced arduous endurance challenges in the past, previously completing the Three Peaks Challenge and swimming the English Channel.

 

The mother of three and grandmother of two, added: "The benchmark for swimming the channel was 24 hours, but for this challenge there is no benchmark for me. For accreditation I have to have three individual trackers to adjudicate the attempt."

 

"I want to find out if it is doable because it would be nice to try something new and have a small legacy. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on the journey."

 

Combat Stress are one of the largest veterans' mental health charities in the UK and support former members of the armed forces

 

At the time of writing the challenge's fundraiser had raised £1,784 and donations can be made to Madeline's JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/page/madeline-raymond-1684083529590