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.

Channel swim in aid of marine charity for north-east woman

Rebecca Campbell Wilson during her training for the English Channel swim this year
Rebecca Campbell Wilson during her training for the English Channel swim this year

A north-east woman who was reintroduced to open water swimming after the death of her husband is preparing to swim the English Channel.

Rebecca Campbell Wilson, owner and manager of the Castle of Park Estate, has self-funded her swim and is donating all the money she raises to a Banff marine conservation organisation.

The 51-year-old, who lives in Cornhill, had been struggling with life and being sole provider for her three children after her husband Neil died in 2014 from a brain tumour at the age of 48.

Coming from a water-loving family, her sister, Maggie Tesolin, reintroduced her to open water swimming which has blossomed from a hobby into a determination to swim to France.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


Ms Wilson will be taking on the 22.5mile swim from Dover to Calais from July 17 in aid of the Cetacean Research and Rescue Unit (CRRU).

She said: “I chose to support them as they are based locally and are linked very much to the sea and the environment, two things that are very important to me.

“I try to swim in the sea at least two to three times a week and the CRRU not only helps protect local wildlife but educated people on the sea and environment.”

Ms Wilson said she would be taking on a challenge which had been completed by relatively few people.

“Just over 1,800 people have successfully swam the channel, the first being Captain Webb in 1873,” she said.

“Mount Everest was first climbed in 1953 and since then, over 4000 people have reached the summit, so that gives you an idea of the magnitude of the challenge.

“I’m also an older swimmer, and there have only been 20 successful swims by women over 50 in the 140 odd years people have been attempting it.”

But it was the struggle after her husband Neil died, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2012, that led to her swimming passion.

She said: “I was actually in India when I was informed Neil had collapsed and flew home just in time to see him going into surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain.

“He was given just a few months to live and I stopped working to be with him and my children.

“Two of our three children were still at primary school at the time and my husband had been the main homemaker.

“He had completely lost his short term memory from the start of the diagnosis, which did not help with him understanding his capabilities or why he was so ill and he had to be cared for 24 hours a day.”

After his death she turned their beloved castle home into her work, balancing that with her passion for swimming.

On July 16 she will travelling to Dover to meet with her support crew and prepare to cross the English Channel – aiming for a time between 16 and 18 hours.

To donate to the cause and support Ms Wilson in her swim visit www.gofundme.com/f/beckys-little-swim-across-the-english-channel