Brecon trio completes 150‑mile swim, raises £14,500 for cancer centre
Three women from Brecon finish a 150‑mile swim from London to Cardiff, delivering over £14,500 to Velindre Cancer Centre and presenting letters to Westminster and the Senedd.
Three Brecon women have completed a 150‑mile open‑water swim to raise funds for Velindre Cancer Centre, surpassing £14,500 in donations.
The trio, who call themselves the Splash Dragons, swam a route that traced the distance between London and Cardiff, tackling a series of lidos and lakes along the way.
Each swimmer covered fifty miles, averaging six kilometres a day for fourteen consecutive days, ultimately logging 162 miles in total.
“It was really good,” said Taniya.
“We started with a lot in London, as there are several beautiful lidos in London.” Following that we effectively travelled along the M4 corridor and swam at Guilford, then up to Newbury, Swindon, Cheltenham and then into Wales we did Spring Valley Lakes, Ponty lido, and finally Llanishen Reservoir.
“It was absolutely brilliant and we were blessed with the best weather, it was like summer again.”
At the conclusion of the challenge the Splash Dragons presented a letter on behalf of Velindre Cancer Centre to MP David Chadwick in the House of Commons.
“David Chadwick met us just before the first Prime Minister’s Questions for Andy Burnham and David had a question tabled, so was going to be standing up in the house to speak interestingly about cross border healthcare issues.” He met us about an hour before that and gave us all the time and was very kind and interested in what we were doing.”
They later delivered a similar letter to MS Rebeca Phillips at the Senedd in Cardiff.
“We met MS Rebeca Phillips at the Senedd and once again she was really receptive and taken the letter away and said she will come back to us with a response to the points made by Velindre on cancer funding.”
Fiona Coombs, who was undergoing cancer treatment three weeks before the swim, faced additional physical challenges.
“She was understandably nervous but she is very strong and such a quiet determined person,” said Taniya.
“On day two I think it was, she had some shoulder pain and she was genuinely concerned that it may stop her, but she did some breast stroke as well as front crawl and managed it really well and got stronger and stronger.”
Adverse weather greeted the team on their first day back in Wales, but they pressed on.
“We never thought we weren’t going to make it but the first day back in Wales was really hard because it was vile weather and a miserable day, but you are so far in you know you just can’t give up.”
Motivation, they say, came from the cause they were supporting.
“The thing is, if you’re swimming and it’s hurting, you just have to think about who you are raising money for and think this is nothing compared to what people are going through, so it was quite the motivator.”
Local sponsors, including a car hire firm, a recycled‑material swimwear provider, a Welsh print company and a chocolate maker, supplied logistical and morale support throughout the fortnight.
Having exceeded their initial target, the Splash Dragons have raised their fundraising aim to £15,000 and plan further events before a scheduled swim around the Statue of Liberty in New York next summer.