Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Don’t stop moving your arms until you get to France’: Methlick dad-of-three takes on toughest challenge of his life as prepares to swim the Channel

Jellyfish, hypothermia and seasickness are just some of the challenges Simon Oakley, 38, may face as he takes on the gruelling 21-mile swim from Dover to France.

Simon Oakley has spent the last two years training to swim the English Channel.
Simon Oakley has spent the last two years training to swim the English Channel. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

From strong currents and seasickness to hypothermia and huge ships, the dangers of swimming the English Channel cannot be underestimated.

But if there’s someone who is under no illusion of the risks involved with the gruelling 21-mile swim from Dover to France then it’s Methlick dad-of-three Simon Oakley.

“Even though I’m a good swimmer, swimming the Channel is on another level,” says Simon.

“More people have climbed Everest than swum the Channel which just goes to show how tough it is.

“It is dangerous, but there’s risks with everything.”

Simon says his three children are so proud of him for taking on the English Channel. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

‘Be comfortable being uncomfortable’…

So how does a busy dad decide to take on one of the world’s most difficult swims?

For Simon, it all began as a child growing up in Manchester.

“I wasn’t especially sporty as a child but I swam a lot right through to my university years, although not seriously,” says Simon.

“But I stopped swimming for about 10 years when I moved up to Aberdeen to work at Fugro in Bridge of Don.

“Life was busy as I was working, and I also got married and had kids, so they were a priority.”

Simon Oakley says his family have been incredibly supportive, including his wife Michele and their three children (from left), Evelyn, Eleanor and Matthew. Image: Simon Oakley

It all started with an open-water swim at Knockburn Loch

It wasn’t until 2017 when Simon took the plunge again, this time discovering a love of open-water swimming.

“I started open-water swimming as an activity to complement my busy work at Fugro and family life at home,” says Simon.

After attending a taster open-water swimming session at Knockburn Loch in Deeside, Simon, who works as a geophysics manager at Fugro, went on to win various events.

Simon loves the sense of freedom he gets when he does open-water swimming. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

“I immediately enjoyed the competitive swims and I entered progressively longer and harder events,” says Simon.

“I remember going along to the Firth of Forth Crossing swim event where you swim under the iconic Forth Rail Bridge.

“I just turned up and thought I’d do my best, then halfway through the swim I remember thinking ‘where has everyone gone’ as I was in the lead.

“So I ended up winning that event in 2018 and 2019, setting the course record, so that gave me quite a lot of confidence.”

‘The Channel is the pinnacle of open-water swimming’

Simon went on to win the Windermere End to End (17 km) race – the longest open-water swim event in England – a few times before deciding to take on the English Channel.

“After winning most of the events I entered in 2022, I decided I needed a harder challenge,” says Simon.

“The obvious answer was the English Channel, the pinnacle of open-water swimming.

“As it’s such a big challenge I also wanted to raise money for charity.”

Simon pictured during a swimming session at Aberdeen Beach. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

Raising money in memory of his grandmother

As a tribute to his late grandmother Margaret Oakley, Simon is raising money for the Alzheimer’s Society, which also happens to be his workplace Fugro’s chosen charity of the year.

“It means a lot to me as my grandmother Margaret had severe dementia so she suffered from hallucinations and she didn’t recognise people, so it was really stressful for close family,” says Simon.

“My grandmother was a head teacher at a primary school for many years, so to see her very scared and having hallucinations was pretty heartbreaking for her husband, my grandad, Ken, who is still alive.”

Simon says his grandad Ken is his biggest supporter.

“He’s been in palliative care for the last year or so; I think this Channel swim is keeping him going which is nice,” says Simon.

Simon is swimming in memory of his grandmother Margaret who is pictured here with her husband Ken. Image: Simon Oakley

Two years of tough training

For the past two years, Simon has been training relentlessly for what he knows will be the biggest challenge of his life.

“I’ve focused all my training towards this goal, which meant lots of swimming, including regular 20km swims,” says Simon.

“I swim at Aberdeen Beach and I often swim at Cullykhan Bay near Gardenstown.

“I also enjoy hard swimming sessions at Aberdeen Sports Village with my amazing training partner Eilidh Prise.”

One of the biggest challenges of the swim will be the cold water.

A big part of Simon’s training has been acclimatising to the cold water. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

“In addition to the actual swimming of the English Channel, the challenge of the cold water is just as difficult,” says Simon.

“For my swim, the water temperature will likely be around 18°C, which is nice for a short dip, but less comfortable after 10 hours of exposure.

“I’m hoping to complete the swim in around 12 hours, but this is largely dependent on the sea state and weather conditions on the day.

“Sea sickness and jellyfish are also a problem.”

‘I’ll need to avoid the 400 vessels passing daily’

It’s not only the cold water that Simon must contend with though.

“The Strait of Dover (the narrowest part of the English Channel) is considered to be the busiest maritime route in the world, so I’ll need to avoid the 400 vessels passing daily,” says Simon.

“I will be escorted by a dedicated pilot boat, called Pathfinder, for the duration of my swim, so I’ll follow the boat.”

Sporting just a swim cap, goggles, Speedos plus a layer of Vaseline, Simon will set off on his swim around 4.30am/5am.

Simon will swim across one of the world’s busiest shipping channels. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

Eating and drinking while treading water…

Swimming under CSA (Channel Swimming Association) rules, Simon isn’t allowed to touch the support boat but is allowed to pause for drinks and snacks while treading water.

“During the swim I’ll alternate between a warm carbohydrate drink and warm squash, and in terms of food, I won’t eat much, maybe a few sweets, a bit of flapjack,” says Simon.

“They recommend that you don’t waste much time feeding because every time you’re not swimming you’re getting pushed sideways by the tide, so you don’t want to waste any time.”

Simon will have warm drinks and some flapjacks to keep him going. Image: Simon Oakley

‘The support from everyone will keep me going’

Asked what will get him through the swim, Simon says it will be thinking about his loved ones.

“I’ll try to take my mind off it by thinking about other things like the jobs I have to do at home or things I’ve got to do at work, and maybe days out we can do with the kids,” says Simon.

“I’ll also probably think about all the comments, feedback and encouragement people have been giving me, which will distract me from the physical pain.”

Simon will be getting the boat back to Dover, having swum to France.

After the swim, Simon, who will have his best friends Sam Crowder and Nick Stevenson plus his dad Chris there for support, is planning to head to the pub afterwards.

“There’s a pub in Dover where all the Channel swimmers go and you can write your name on the wall,” says Simon.

Simon is more than ready for the epic challenge. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

Stellar support from Methlick community

Simon will then head back up to Methlick where he will enjoy an emotional reunion with his wife Michele and their three children, 10-year-old Evelyn, seven-year-old Matthew and four-year-old Eleanor.

“My wife Michele has been so supportive and the kids are proud and inspired by what I’m doing which is really nice,” says Simon.

Simon says the support from the local community in Methlick has also blown him away.

“The village have also got a celebration booked,” says Simon.

“All the dads in the village have organised a pub celebration when I get back which is really nice.

“It’s a really nice community, everyone has been so supportive.”

Weather permitting, Simon hopes to start the swim on Wednesday, September 25 but this could change.


Anyone who would like to sponsor Simon can do so via his Just Giving page

Conversation