More than 6,000 people descended upon the Serpentine Lake in London’s Hyde Park for an open water swimming festival on Saturday.
The seventh edition of the popular event, Swim Serpentine, welcomed participants of all abilities, aged between 10 and 86, to swim a variety of distances on Saturday – half a mile, one mile, two miles or six miles.
Among those taking part was English actress Juliet Stevenson, known for her role in the film Truly, Madly, Deeply, who swam the half-mile distance for West London Welcome, a refugee and migrant community centre in west London.
The stage and screen star, 67, told the PA news agency: “I didn’t actually know anybody else swimming but very soon I got sort of chatting to about three other women so we swam together.
“We decided to swim at the back, we were not racing, we didn’t care about the time.”
She added the only “problem” was a hole in her wetsuit which created a bubble and “kept (her) bouncing on the surface like a beach ball”.
“It was quite tough to get down under the water to swim properly but other than that, it was really lovely,” she said.
Among those aiming for a challenge during the event was 80-year-old Lena Buckley, who tackled the half-mile swim to celebrate her birthday – a surprise which was organised by her friend, Sian Blatchford, 62.
Ms Buckley told PA: “I’ve swum a half-mile for my 80th year, it felt further than a half-mile, to be truthful, and I had cramp in my left calf so that held me up a bit.
“I’ve always been up for a challenge, I’ve always been very strong and this was something I wanted to do in my 80th year and I’ve done it.”
Ms Buckley added she will also be taking on a 5km run in her 80th year.
Swim Serpentine started in 2016 as a legacy event from the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Olympic open water swimmer Cassie Patten was also among those at the festival, telling PA: “The Serpentine is iconic, it’s an iconic lake, it’s beautiful, it’s right in the heart of London.
“I think it’s one of the best open water venues in the UK and I just feel really proud to be a part of it.”
She added: “One of the things I love about open water swimming is the sense of freedom.
“There’s no lane ropes, there’s no chlorine, you’re in nature and I think that’s so beautiful.”
