Liane Llewellyn Hickling plans to be first to swim non-stop round Anglesey

Later this month, in a swim that’s expected to take more than 24 hours and cover over 70 miles, Liane Llewellyn Hickling will attempt to circumnavigate Anglesey in North Wales. Swimming under rules prescribed by the British Long Distance Swimming Association (i.e. no wetsuit, one swimming costume, hat and goggles), Liane will start from Moelfe on the north east coast and head clockwise through the Menai Strait. Along the way she will face some of the strongest tides and most challenging coastal waters in the UK.

Liane has previously completed many solo non-stop swims including the lengths of Windermere (one way and two ways), Loch Lomond and Loch Ness. In 2009 she became only the third British woman to complete a two-way English Channel swim, which took her 27 hours and 35 minutes. As part of her preparation for the rough waters and tides of Anglesey, Liane completed the first recorded swim around St Kilda in June 2016.

The inspiration for the swim around Anglesey came from Nigel Dennis and Eila Wilkinson of Holyhead-based Sea Kayaking UK/Tidal Waters. Liane met Nigel and Eila when they provided kayak support for Ronan Keating’s Irish Sea relay swim in 2011 and Liane was one of the experienced swimmers that supported the celebrity team in achieving their challenge. Nigel was one of the first two people to kayak around Britain and Eila has completed a solo circumnavigation of Ireland by kayak. Both have completed paddling expeditions across the globe. Nigel and Eila will be leading the support team on the water and Nigel’s position as a crew member and Emergency Coxswain of the Holyhead lifeboat has also provided the inspiration for the cause that Liane will be fundraising for. Liane will be swimming to raise money for the Craig Steadman Lifeboat Fund. Craig was a member of the Holyhead lifeboat crew tragically killed in a motorbike accident in 2015 and his crewmates are aiming to raise £24,000 to part fund a new D-Class lifeboat that will be named in his memory. The Barmouth station, where the new boat will be based are raising the other half of the money needed to buy the new boat.

Find out more and donate at: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/thecraigsteadmanlifeboatfund