Alice Gartland - pursuing her passions of swimming, getting outdoors & eating cake!

Alice believes that learning to swim is a human right, and that whether you’re swimming your first 25metres, splashing in tarns or crossing the English Channel, swimming can empower our lives both in and out of the water.

Alice discovered open water swimming after being knocked off her bike by a lorry on her way to work, the day before her 31 birthday. Waking up on the tarmac as commuter traffic circled around her, too busy to stop to help, she realised it was time to change her path.

Since then Alice has pursued her passions of writing, social justice, water and the outdoors. She is contributing Editor of Outdoor Swimmer Magazine, lead scientist at the International Institute of Swim Cake Studies, a qualified swim teacher, Mandarin speaker,  and consultant focusing on projects relating to anti corruption, responsible business, water scarcity, the rule of law and the impact of technology on social and economic development.

When not in or writing about water, her research and advocacy  have taken her to China, India, No.10 and the UN.

Her swims include: a 4 woman English Channel relay; 2 woman Lake Zurich relay; the Solent; the Thames Marathon; Dart 10k, Sydney Harbour Swim, Scilly Swim Challenge, and the swimmer for Team Mel C vs Team Pendleton in the Human Race Women only triathlon, and competing in the International Winter Swimming Championships in China.

Show notes

• Living in London
• Getting out into the mountains for the first time
• Wanting to spend more time outside
• Going to China!
• Heading up to Sheffield to study
• Deciding to be a lawyer
• The big dream
• Problems that put life into perspective
• Losing her connection with health and wellbeing 
• When it all changed for her
• Who do I call?
• Knowing she was going to change her life
• A Lotus Rises
• Moving out to Chamonix
• Getting back into swimming
• The community of swimmers and how they supported her
• The Lake Zurich swim and how it changed her life
• Top tips for outdoor swimming
• Did you swim today (Forum)
• Body image issues and getting your body out there
• The International Institute of Swim Cake!
• Increasing the amount of people participating in swimming
• The connection between the pool and the pond
• Ensuring women are involved in water policy