From "You're All Mad" to Making Waves: Karen Forrester's Wild Swimming Journey
Karen with twin girls she is teaching to swim
Some people are born to swim in cold water. Others need a little convincing. Karen Forrester firmly belonged to the latter camp—until one weekend in 2024 changed everything.
As an Inclusion Specialist at Level Water, Karen's work revolves entirely around the water. She's an expert in supporting disabled children to learn to swim, working alongside main swim teachers in group lessons. Her role is crucial: by providing that extra layer of specialised support, Karen helps free up swim spots and gets children off waiting lists, as they don't need a dedicated one-to-one slot all to themselves. It's about making swimming accessible, inclusive, and possible for more children across the UK.
But despite spending her professional life poolside, Karen had never ventured into the wild waters of outdoor swimming.
Saturday: The Skeptic
When Karen arrived at the Watersedge Wild Swim Relay on a Saturday in 2024, she had one clear message for the swimmers braving the cold lake in Worcestershire: "You're all mad getting in the cold water."
She watched from dry land as teams swam relay-style through the 24-hour challenge, each swimmer taking an hour-long turn in the eleven-acre wild lake. Saunas, campfires, and camaraderie filled the campsite, but Karen remained firmly convinced that this wasn't for her. The water? Too cold. The whole endeavour? Simply mad.
Sunday: The Convert
Something happened overnight. Maybe it was watching the joy on swimmers' faces as they emerged from their dawn swims. Maybe it was the infectious energy of a community united by an unusual challenge. Maybe it was just that there's something magnetic about Watersedge that pulls you in—literally.
When Karen returned on Sunday, she came prepared. Swimming costume in hand, she took the plunge and completed a lap of the lake. Just like that, the skeptic became a swimmer. The woman who'd called everyone "mad" just 24 hours earlier had discovered the magic of cold water swimming for herself.
2025: The Champion
Fast forward to Watersedge 2025, and Karen wasn't just back—she was leading the charge. She entered a team of fellow Level Water swimming teachers, the very people who spend their days teaching children the joy and life-saving skills of swimming. Together, they took on the 24-hour relay challenge with gusto. Alex Mears, Ian Griffiths, Flynn Watson, Kofi Williams, Louise Williams and Rhys Faulkner.
Their dedication paid off in the best possible way: Karen's team won the fundraising prize, earning each team member a pair of coveted Vivobarefoot shoes. More importantly, they raised crucial funds for Level Water's mission to provide specialised swimming lessons to disabled children across the UK—an initiative particularly close to their hearts given their day jobs.
2026: The Adventurer
This year, Karen's wild swimming journey takes another exciting turn. She's entered both the Bantham Swoosh and Boomerang with her swim teacher friends—two of the most popular and fastest-selling swims in the UK.
The Bantham Swoosh is a stunning 6km downstream swim through the Aune Estuary in South Devon, where the outgoing tide "swooshes" swimmers along at up to four times their normal swimming speed. The Boomerang offers an even more unique experience: swimming upstream with the incoming tide, then turning around when the tide does and swooshing back—"two swooshes for the price of one," covering anywhere from 5 to 10km depending on timing and ambition.
Both swims finish at the iconic Bantham Beach, consistently rated as one of Europe's finest beaches, with shallow, clear water and a sandy bottom where you might spot crabs cruising the river bed beneath you.
The Ripple Effect
Karen's transformation from cold-water skeptic to wild swimming enthusiast in less than 48 hours is remarkable, but it's also emblematic of what makes these Level Water events so special. They're not just about swimming; they're about community, challenge, and discovering new sides of yourself.
More importantly, every entry fee and fundraising pound goes toward Level Water's mission to provide adapted swimming lessons for disabled children. The charity provides 70,000 specialised swimming lessons every year to children aged 4-11 with disabilities, helping them build not just swimming skills but confidence, strength, and independence in the water.
For every child in Level Water's lessons, there are four more on the waiting list. Karen's fundraising efforts, along with those of hundreds of other swimmers, directly fund these life-changing lessons. It's fitting that someone whose daily work involves making swimming more accessible to children with disabilities has found her own unexpected path into the swimming community through wild water challenges.
From standing on the sidelines calling swimmers "mad" to jumping into some of the UK's most challenging and beautiful swims, Karen Forrester's journey proves that sometimes the best adventures begin with the words "you're all mad"—and end with you joining in.
Who knows? Maybe we'll see Karen organising a cold-water swimming group for Level Water teachers next. After all, stranger things have happened. Like swimming in cold water becoming your new favourite thing in less than a weekend.
Want to follow in Karen's footsteps? Learn more about Watersedge Wild Swim Relay, Bantham Swoosh and Boomerang, and how your swimming can support disabled children at levelwater.org.
Karen’s team before…
….and after 24hr Wild Swim Relay
