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Swimmers chill out to raise money for hospice

Kate Bradbrook,Cambridgeand
Shivani Chaudhari
News imageKate Bradbrook/BBC A group of people, three women and one man. They are wearing layered winter clothes and standing by a pool. They are smiling at the camera Kate Bradbrook/BBC
The event was organised by volunteers and money raised will go to a hospice facing funding cuts

A outdoor swimming festival has taken place to raise money for a hospice facing funding cuts.

Festival of Chill was held at Jesus Green Lido in central Cambridge on Saturday for the first time, in aid of Arthur Rank Hospice Charity.

Organisers said about 75 competitors took part in races including a fancy dress swim.

Danya Harris described cold-water swimming as "washing your brain".

News imageKate Bradbrook/BBC An outdoor pool, with trees at the side. Ropes divide the pool into lanes and there is bunting flying overhead. Kate Bradbrook/BBC
Jesus Green Lido is the joint-longest outdoor pool in the country

Money from the volunteer-organised event will benefit the hospice, which lost £800,000 in funding from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Since then, fundraising has secured the nine at-risk beds until at least April 2027.

Catherine Hayhurst, who helped organise the event, said the hospice had looked after her mother as an inpatient for nearly two months, and that many involved in the sold-out event had connections to the facility.

Jesus Green Lido celebrated turning 100 in 2023 and attracts a dedicated band of lifelong swimmers who have taken to the cold water here for decades.

At 100yds (91m), it is the joint longest outside pool in the UK, with Tooting Bec Lido in south London.

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