This summer, between the 18th to 21st of August, Liane Llewellyn Hickling will be attempting something that has never been done before; a solo non-stop swim around Anglesey in North Wales.

This is a distance of over 70 miles through some of the strongest tides and most challenging waters the UK has to offer. Following rules laid down by the British Long Distance Swimming Association she will be wearing just a swimsuit, swimming hat and googles. Starting from Moelfre she will swim clockwise around the entire Anglesey coastline with the intention of returning to the starting point 24-30 hours later. If the changing tides mean the non-stop swim is not possible she will leave the water to continue swimming when the tide changes in her favour.

Liane from Denholme in West Yorkshire is a physiotherapist with the Pennine Acute NHS Trust in Oldham and Bury. She is one of the UK’s most experienced long distance open water swimmers but this is her biggest challenge to date. She has completed many solo non-stop swims including the lengths of; Windermere (one way and two ways), Loch Lomond, Loch Ness and has crossed the English Channel. In 2009 she became only the third British woman to swim the English Channel there and back covering a distance of over 60 miles in twenty-seven hours and thirty-five 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 raising money for.

Liane will be swimming to raise funds to buy a new D - Class lifeboat to be stationed at Barmouth in Mid Wales named in memory of Craig Steadman. Craig who was born in The Wirral was an RNLI crewman on the Holyhead lifeboat who was tragically killed at the age of 28 in a motorbike accident on Anglesey last summer. The crew and shore team at Holyhead are supporting Liane’s swim along with the other lifeboat stations around the island.

To support Liane and the Holyhead Lifeboat Crew in their fundraising attempts to raise £24 000 visit https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/thecraigsteadmanlifeboatfund to donate.

Liane can be contacted on 07885 135 780 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Nigel can be contacted This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Craig Steadman Lifeboat fund are on Facebook:
https://en-gb.facebook.com/The-Craig-Steadman-Lifeboat-Fund-1722402441332943/