Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Sean Conway becomes first person to swim from Land’s End to John O’Groats

He had to battle bad weather and jelly fish stings to make the marathon journey

Tomas Jivanda
Monday 11 November 2013 15:17 GMT
Comments
Charity swimmer Sean Conway arrives at John O'Groats
Charity swimmer Sean Conway arrives at John O'Groats (PA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A man has become the first person to swim the length of Britain from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Sean Conway, 32, from Gloucestershire set off from the tip of Cornwall on 30 June, reaching the most northern point of mainland Scotland on Monday - 135 days later.

Mr Conway covered 900 miles, making an estimated three million strokes for the feat. He swam for 90 of the days, whilst the remaining time was spent out of the water due to bad weather.

He had originally hoped to reach John O’Groats in just two months rather than the four it took. Many people have walked and cycled between the two points, but no one has swam the distance before.

Emerging from the water, he told the BBC: "It just shows that if you put your mind to something anything is possible.

"The hardest part was trying to deal with the weather, the cold and jelly fish in the face. I had to grow this ridiculous beard to stop the stings."

During the swim he was stung 10 times. As the temperature has dropped, his jaw became so cold in the closing weeks of the swim that he could not chew solid foods.

He also had eating fatigue from the amount of calories he needed to consume and lost a stone in weight.

"This is the hardest thing I have ever done. That said, I'm really glad I have done it,” he told STV. “I don't think anyone will try it ever again, if they know the reality of it. If someone wants to, I will definitely help them, but it will be cold."

Mr Conway has so far raised over £6,000 from the swim with proceeds going to War Child, a charity that provides aid to children living in war zones.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in