Paramedic in 'world first' highest lakes swim bid

George Bell-Starr walking along a rural track, wearing an orange t-shirt and shorts, hiking boots, a hydration vest and black baseball cap. He's got a full dark beard and is carrying two Nordic poles in his left hand.Image source, Sam Carden / Climb South West
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Mr Bell-Starr believes he will be the first person to attempt the challenge

  • Published

A paramedic will attempt to swim 1,000 metres in each of the highest lakes in Scotland, England and Wales in under 30 hours.

George Bell-Starr, from Dorset, believes he will be the first person to attempt the feat, which will involve swimming in temperatures as low as 6C (43F) in the dark.

The majority of the challenge will be on foot, with more than a marathon's worth of hiking and 3,000 metres of elevation to reach the lakes.

Mr Bell-Starr is taking on the "tri-lake swim" to raise money for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA), Duckling Pre-School and Cancer Research UK.

George Bell-Starr walking across a bare rocky heathland with the aid of Nordic poles. He is wearing an orange t-shirt and shorts, hiking boots, a hydration vest and black baseball cap.Image source, Sam Carden / Climb South West
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The majority of the endurance challenge will be on foot, climbing to the lakes

He said: "I've swum 500km (310 miles) in 365 days and I've cycled from Aberdeen to Weymouth on a stationary bike whilst working on a ship.

"I have had a few friends do the Three Peaks Challenge, and I really love swimming, so I thought about a way of combining the two events.

"An evening of Googling later and I cannot find any trace of people swimming in the highest lakes in the three home countries, so the challenge was born."

Mr Bell-Starr said he expected the hardest part to be the cold and the dark.

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George Bell-Starr tells Radio Solent the hiking will be harder than the swimming

"I anticipate that the lakes will be much colder than the sea, and could be well into the single-figure temperatures, possibly as low as six or seven degrees," he said.

"I anticipate that the English lake swim will take place in the dark, so my support crew will have to keep an eye on my small reflective safety buoy to keep me safe."

He said he was preparing by spending "many hours" on the treadmill and regularly ran 20 to 30km (12-18 miles) a week.

A dark lake surrounded by rocks, moors and peaks. The peaks furthest in the distance are covered in snow.Image source, Aleks Scholz
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Loch Etchachan, in the Cairngorms, is the UK's highest lake

Scotland's - and the UK's - highest lake is Loch Etchachan, in the Cairngorms, at 927m (3,041 ft) above sea level.

Llyn Llyffant, in the Carneddau mountains, is the highest in Wales, at 815m (2,674 ft) and Red Tarn in the Lake District is England's highest, at 718m (2,356 ft).

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