Castle to Castle Swim raises £10,000 for the RNLI

The Fal River Festival saw a spectacular finish on Sunday with the Castle to Castle Swim. 217 people swam the 1.5 miles between Pendennis and St Mawes castles. The organisers say they’ve raised £10,000 so far, and that the total is growing daily. 

All the money raised is being donated to the RNLI. Fundraising manager Dave Nicoll told the Falmouth Packet: “A fantastic number of people took part and I think it will be even bigger next year. Last year was the first time and a test to see if it was feasible but it is obviously getting more and more popular.”

Last year just 38 people took part. 

Eastenders actor and Falmouth resident Steve McFadden was amongst this year’s swimmers. He completed the swim in 49 minutes and says it wasn’t as easy as last year: 

“It was tough, definitely harder than last year. I pushed it a bit too early and it was very choppy for the whole swim. The sense of achievement when you finish is amazing and I feel great. The RNLI is the most fantastic charity in the world, there’s nothing else like it. I thank all the lifeboat crew and lifeguards for what they do.”

Olympic swimmer Sharon Davies started the race and handed out medals at the end. She said: “This is a great event and its fantastic that the wet weather held off. The RNLI is a charity I’ve been aware of, and involved in, for years and years. It offers such a vital service and its great to see so many people supporting its work by taking on this amazing challenge.”

The first man to complete the mile long swim was John Parker of Cleveland, Bristol in a time of 27 minutes and the first female back was 15 year old Nicky Russell from Truro, Cornwall.