King’s Cliffe man raises money for Stroke Association through Aquasphere Chill Swim Windermere

A waterpolo player has thrown himself in at the deep end by completing the longest swim in England in memory of his dad.

Mark Baillie, from King’s Cliffe, braved the chilly waters of Lake Windermere on Saturday (August 31) as he completed an 11-mile swim in six hours 48 minutes. He was joined by Cambridgeshire Police inspector Matt Snow, who also lives locally, and completed the race in just under seven hours.

Mark, who works for an IT software company, said: “This swim was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

“There were times I wanted to give up but I was determined to keep pushing on.”

Although Mark has been diving into the pool since he was a toddler, the Aquasphere Chill Swim Windermere, which is England’s longest swimming race, is the first competitive open-water event he’s taken part in.

“A friend from waterpolo asked me to take part in the swim which at the time I thought would be a fun thing to do,” he said.

“Although now I have realised I probably should have dipped my toe in the water first with something a bit easier.”

Mark joined Kettering Water Polo Club, which this year celebrated its 110th anniversary, when he was a teenager and has been taking part in matches and training ever since.

But the short bursts of front crawl and treading water involved in a waterpolo match could not prepare him fully for seven hours of non-stop swimming.

His usual leisurely weekend swims became regimented training sessions both indoors at the Oundle School pool and in the River Nene at Stibbington.

Training also included watching YouTube videos on ‘how to swim’ and weight exercises in the gym.

The 55-year-old was first inspired to dip his toe into the world of swimming as a child by his dad Alan, who he is fundraising in memory of.

Alan suffered a stroke while at a leisure centre in 2018 and died two years later.

“My dad is the person who taught me to swim and encouraged my love for the water,” he said.

“Swimming Lake Windermere is a huge challenge for me so it only felt right to raise money for the charity which supported my dad through his biggest challenge.”

Mark set himself a target of raising £500 for the Stroke Association, which he reached within 24 hours. He now hopes to double the initial target and raise £1,000.

To donate visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/bigswim4strokeassoc.

Do you have a story? Email news@lincsonline.co.uk.