Great North Swim: Thousands complete Windermere event

Swimmers take the plunge into Windermere from Brockhole

People have taken to the water in the UK's biggest open water swim, despite some challenging conditions forcing a day-long cancellation.

The Great North Swim in Windermere featured a range of distances for swimmers of all ages and abilities.

High winds meant the Saturday programme of the weekend-long event was unable to go ahead.

However, when it resumed, thousands completed their own personal challenges for a variety of good causes.

These included Owen Ryan, brother-in-law of BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Lisa Shaw, who was raising funds for the charity set up in her memory following her death in 2021 at the age of 44.

Owen Ryan was raising money for the charity set up in memory of his sister, Lisa Shaw

He said: "Lisa Shaw's Little 'Uns aims to raise money to fund holidays, activities and creative outlets for children who have lost a parent but do not have the means to pay for them.

"We want to give all bereaved kids experiences that can help them smile and laugh again."

Colin Murphy, event director of the Great North Swim, said: "We'd like to say a huge congratulations to everyone who took part across the weekend and completed their swim in some pretty challenging conditions.

"Despite our best efforts to go ahead, Saturday's events were cancelled due to strong gusting winds.

"We understand this was disappointing for those who weren't able to take part, but the safety and well-being of our participants is always our priority.

"We were delighted to be able to resume on Sunday and anyone who had their swim cancelled will have the opportunity to roll their entry over to the next staging of the event, or receive a refund."

People of all ages and swimming abilities were able to take part