Swimming Through the Night: Dawn till Dusk

Photos by Chris Healey @chris.healey

A Hot Start to a Historic Swim

The longest day of the year was also the hottest – this year's summer solstice fell on 21 June. What better weekend for our first ever Dusk till Dawn swim?

The Venue: A Perfect Partnership

Jesus Green Lido in Cambridge hosted Level Water so that teams could swim for 12 hours on the longest day of the year – from 7pm Saturday to 7am Sunday. From visiting the lido to releasing tickets and telling the community, it was clear in just a few months that the event would be a roaring success. The lido is run by Better, a leisure company that also hosts Level Water swimming lessons for disabled children. They understand that swimming is a crucial life-skill and that access isn’t equal for children in the UK, so Level Water lessons are vital for their development. With their full support and posters everywhere, it went from 0 to 180+ swimmers in record time (34 teams in total). The Friends of Jesus Green also kindly reached out to their community to help support our very first 12-hour swim.

A Buzz of Anticipation

Jesus Green was packed with swimmers and sunbathers during the day, but they soon filtered out (helped along by a random downpour) as the Level Water swimmers began to arrive and excitement started to build. The poolside was already decked out in pink and yellow, with the Level Water logo standing proud at the head of the 90m pool. Enthusiastic volunteers welcomed swimmers at the entrance, helped them register and showed them where to set up camp.

Full Circle for Level Water’s CEO

Level Water CEO, Ian led the swimmer briefing at 6:30pm. It was an emotional day for him as this is the place he started his swimming journey. He took some of his first strokes here as a boy, lifeguarded the pool as a teenager, and has now returned as an adult to run an event that will benefit thousands of disabled children in Cambridge and beyond. Three generations of the Thwaites family swam at Dusk till Dawn: his mum Anne, his wife Jo, and his oldest daughter Tiger-Lily. It was touching to see how much this event means to him. After Ian's briefing, the first swimmers were ready to enter the water.

And They're Off

The countdown started, and at 7pm swimmers began their first lap of the Level Water buoys with the Chesterton Community College Folk Fiddle Band playing in the background. Unlike lane swimming, there was space to spread out and enjoy the blissfully cool water after the heat of the day. Swimmers changed over according to their own schedules, every hour coming together to celebrate closing in on the 12-hour goal. Swimmers snapped photos with the clock to mark each shift, as the fundraising total climbed steadily.

Night Swimming: A Special Kind of Magic

As night fell, the lights came on around the pool. The calm of the night brought a kind of magic to each stroke. Swimmers chatted in muted voices around the campsite as they settled in, some even nodding off during the early hours. The commitment and resilience it takes to wake at 3am and put on a cold swimming costume or wetsuit shouldn’t be underestimated. Every penny of sponsorship was well-earned as swimmers embraced the epic challenge of a full night of swimming.

Sunrise and the Final Stretch

Then – sunrise. As the sun rose, another beautiful day dawned over Jesus Green, and the swimmers knew they were finally on the home stretch. At 6am, all team members were invited to swim together to round off 12 incredible hours. The crowd gathered at the head of the pool to cheer each team and the two solo swimmers who had achieved the amazing feat of swimming through the night alone. Hugs were exchanged, memories made, and swimmers dried off for the final time, packed up tents, and said their goodbyes.

Every Stroke Counts

Dusk till Dawn raised the equivalent of nearly 2,000 swimming lessons for disabled children – that’s a total of £28,000 (and still climbing). Thank you to the Friends of Jesus Green, the lido staff, the lifeguards, the volunteers, all the swimmers – and the little boy who spray painted a Level Water logo on his t-shirt. We love you. ❤️