A group of enthusiastic open water swimmers from North Dorset are planning the challenge of a lifetime – swimming the English Channel.

‘WHAT is said at Swim for Cake Club stays at Swim for Cake Club.’
But now the open water swimming group – made up of women from North Dorset – is shouting from the rooftops as it prepares for a sea-sized challenge.
Led by open water swimming instructor Aquatic Harriet, swim school owner Natalie, forensic psychologist Billy and school pastoral care worker Ruth will take on the 22-mile cross-Channel swim in July.

The quartet are raising money for three charities – Young Minds, Birth Trauma UK and the 100 and First Foundation.
“There is something very special about swimming in the open water,” Harriet said. “It has certainly grown in popularity in the last few years, with good reason. There are also some incredible swimming challenges and it has been a dream of mine to one day swim solo across the English Channel.
“Despite its popularity, it is still considered to be the ‘Everest of swimming’ and one of the toughest swims to attempt.”
Swim for Cake was founded when Covid lockdowns began in 2020.
“I turned more to the open water as an escape and found it to be great therapy,” Harriet went on.

“After a few friends approached me to help them build their confidence in the sea, we formed a support group who would get together weekly to swim, put the world to rights and eat cake.
“Swim for Cake was born.”
A place for anyone wanting to try open water swimming, the group soon hatched an ambitious plan.
“Sitting on the beach sometime in summer 2021 after a swim, while eating cake of course, I joked with Natalie, who I have known for years, about doing an English Channel relay swim,” Harriet said.
“The seed was sown though and the joke became an aspiration in January 2022 when we recruited two more swimmers; Billy, a Swim for Cake regular, and Ruth, a friend of Natalie’s from her cycling club, made the team up to four.
“We had booked our boat and pilot within 12 days and started planning.”
The team have all had medicals and been training to work on technique, pace and stamina.
“The faster we swim, the less chance there is of being pushed off course by the tides, which change direction approximately every six hours,” she said.
Harriet will lead them off, with others supporting alongside in a boat. “Wearing no more than a swimsuit, hat, goggles, ear plugs and a light during the dark, we will each swim for an hour at a time,” she explained.
“While one is swimming, the other three will be on the boat cheering on, perhaps napping a bit, updating social media and most definitely eating cake, lots of cake.
“The actual swimming might be the easiest part though. There may be long periods of swimming in the dark, big waves and windy conditions to contend with, and not to mention fighting seasickness on the boat.
“We will be relying on our boat pilot to keep us clear of the big ships, we may have to dodge jellyfish, and who knows what else, but there definitely won’t be any sharks, we hope!
“It will all be under scrutiny from an observer to ensure we are following the channel swimming rules, of which there are many.
“This is such a big challenge, so as well as swimming for cake, we will be swimming for charity. We are supporting three amazing Charities; Young Minds, Birth Trauma UK and the 100 and First Foundation.”

Supporters will be able to live track the team’s effort on the day and follow along on social media.
People can donate to the Swim for Cake challenge fund online at www.givewheel.com/fundraising/418/swim-for-cake-channel-relay-challenge.