An environmentalist, professional mermaid and author is preparing to swim across Windermere with an inflatable poo.
Lindsey Cole, 40, from Bristol, is swimming across the lake to highlight sewage problems in UK waters which she claims are impacting otters.
The swim will also form part of Lindsey’s trip to Kendal Mountain Film Festival, where she is promoting her new film Rave on for the Avon and her new children’s book, The Mermaid, the Otter and the Big Poo – written about a swim she did in 2022.
Lindsey will be wearing just her mermaid tail and swimming costume to complete the swim – which is taking place tomorrow, Thursday November 16 at 1pm.
Once she reached Bowness-on-Windermere, she will read to school children and home-schoolers and teach them how to look for signs of sewage pollution.
She added: “I thought it would be a good way to continue shouting about sewage pollution concerns, it’s also my favourite Lake in England. At the moment I’m just getting all my props ready and there’s a lot I need to pack for the swim like my inflatable poo and tail – I haven’t really thought about the actual swim! But it will just be very cold!
“Mermaiding is what I do for a living, I swim rivers, lakes and seas in my mermaid tail and link to an environmental issue and turn my stories into kids books.”
The Mermaid, the Otter and the Big Poo is based on a true events from when Lindsey swam the length of the Bristol Avon, towing her inflatable poo, to highlight the impact of pollution.
This is Lindsey’s second book. Her debut, The Mermaid and the Cow, was also based on a real story. Where Lindsey rescued a drowning cow whilst mermaiding in the River Thames for a plastic awareness campaign.
