King of the Lakes

Hector Pardoe "This documentary follows my attempt to complete a challenge inspired by the famous Three Peaks Challenge – but with an open-water twist. Instead of climbing mountains, I set out to swim 55km across three of Britain’s most iconic lakes – Loch Lomond, Windermere, and Lake Bala – all within 24 hours." The film captures the full journey: months of training and preparation, the logistics of moving between lakes, and the reality of battling exhaustion, cold water, and unpredictable conditions on the day itself. It’s not just a test of endurance, but of mindset, resilience, and determination to keep going when every muscle wants to give up. This is more than a record attempt – it’s a story of inspiration, drawn from the Three Peaks, to create a new kind of endurance adventure: the Three Lakes Challenge. As well as touching upon the challenges of elite athletes and their Olympic journey and how they combat the 'Olympic Blues'. Written, Directed and Edited by Jonny Wong Camera Operators - Jonny Wong & Tom Ip

Sustainability Notes: 

"This challenge and documentary was done to raise awareness and funds for Surfers Against Sewage, a water quality charity who promote awareness and combat sewage discharge in UK waters.

Open water swimming in the UK is a sport directly affected by water quality, with athletes at risk of illness from actively participating in affected waters. Hector Pardoe, who became ill himself after his World Record swim in Windermere, is an athlete who voices his concerns of these conditions and seeks to spread awareness via his platform. Hector has participated in many different swims which raise awareness and funds to address and take action for the community's concerns.

A water quality sensor was fitted to the support boat throughout the swim to actively collect water quality data points throughout the duration of the challenge on Loch Lomond, Lake Windermere and Lake Bala.

Electric vehicles were also used as production vehicles to transport members of the crew between the lakes during the challenge."