Solo swimmer Jasmine Harrison on target to reach Groats on Full Length swim
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A solo female swimmer is on target to reach John O'Groats at the end of September after swimming the length of the British mainland.
Jasmine Harrison, who is from Thirsk in North Yorkshire, has now reached Scotland on her 900-mile swimming challenge, The Full Length of Britain from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
She was due to arrive in Oban on Wednesday and is on target to complete the swim for the end of September, having started on July 1.
Jasmine last year became the youngest solo female to row the Atlantic Ocean, aged just 21.
She is raising money for Surfers against Sewage and Sea Shepherd UK, both via Just Giving, to support their work in clean waters and beaches and protecting wildlife.
Since leaving Wales, the 'masked' swimmer has tackled challenging swims around the Isle of Man, including the strong and ever-changing currents of the Sound of the Calf of Man, the difficult conditions from the Isle of Man to the North Channel – which involved crossing ferry lanes and finding herself swimming alongside a basking shark.
Jellyfish are now very common, and the stings painful and distracting with the after-effects lasting several days from each sting.
Her swimming attire of a wetsuit has been completed with neoprene socks and gloves as well as a neoprene mask fashioned from a swimming hood. The mask is working – except for the baby jellyfish which enter her mouth and then sting!
After restocking with provisions and fuel in Oban, Jasmine, a swimming instructor, was planning to continue along the north and east coast of the Isle of Mull along the Inner Hebrides, under the Skye bridge and follow the coast north before turning east to John O’Groats.
She said: "Swimming along the coast of Scotland is amazing, the landscape is so beautiful. The waters are really clear, even though there are so many jellyfish and it’s getting colder!"
Jasmine's progress can be followed on the tracker at www.thefulllength.co.uk, where you can also donate to her charities.
