Lake Windermere complete!

Mental Health Swims Community Engagement Manager Sarah Groves has conquered the length of Lake Windermere. She shares her final report.

It was an early wake up – 3.15am to be precise – so I could eat and get over to Ambleside for the 5am bus that took everyone to the start at Fell Foot. As we drove alongside Windermere in the dark, I kept getting glimpses of the water and amongst the anxiety, I felt excited. In just a few hours I’d be in there.

After what felt like a long journey, I was glad to get off the coach and we headed to the kayak to get ready. The day before, I had come down for a dip – it felt tropical and so with a sunny day predicted, I made the decision to take on the challenge in my cozzie, no wetsuit.

Soon enough we were all gathered for the briefing and then my name and number were called. As I walked into the water, I could barely believe that it was happening. 26 weeks of training; the pools, the lakes, the planning and the wobbles, and here I was at the start line. Let’s do this.

The first half was stunning and the water was still and peaceful. I saw the sun come up over the hill and thought about how amazing this all was. However, anxiety and self-doubt soon kicked in. Every now and then one of the safety boats would appear to check me out from a distance and it was hard to get out of my head – I kept worrying that they thought I was too slow. On one of my snack breaks, Ian told me we needed to put in some more power so we could get to the halfway point in plenty of time and so I kicked a little harder and we got to work. At halfway my family met me with smiles and encouragement and it was such a boost.

The second half of the swim was the hardest, but the absolute best in so many ways. The lake was busy; there were ferries, wake boarders and many rogue boat folk. The wakes were big and it felt scary. But the jaffa cakes were excellent, I felt relaxed and I was loving the challenge. It felt like I got into a rhythm and I almost couldn’t believe it when we started to venture across the lake to the finishing point. To be honest, I didn’t want it to end!

I gave it everything I had to finish strong and I felt myself welling up as the bottom of the lake came into view and I couldn’t swim any further. I did it. I actually did it, 11 miles. My hard work paid off and I was chuffed to bits – I still am! I had an absolute blast and really enjoyed it.

Thank you so much for following my journey and to everyone who has supported me and donated. There’s still time to donate, so please check out my fundraising page.