A FORMER Wirral community nurse will be proving that ‘This Girl Can’ when she takes on her latest open-water swim for charity next month.

Wallasey mum-of-two Julie Lloyd spent 25 years looking after patients suffering with terminal illness and now hopes to give something back by taking part in the Great North Swim on June 12.

The avid swimmer and scuba diver – who appeared in Sport England’s This Girl Can advertising campaign – was already signed up to tackle the 5km swim across Lake Windermere but when swimming pal Anne Ellison asked for her help in raising funds for cancer research, she jumped at the chance.

Anne’s husband David died last October after battling pancreatic cancer, leaving behind their two children Samantha and Caroline.

“When Anne asked if I would like to do the swim on behalf of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, I was delighted to accept the challenge,” said 56-year-old Julie.

“I’m honoured to be doing it for David. I was a nurse for 25 years and I’ve been on both sides of it.

“I’ve looked after terminal patients and I was honoured to be involved in helping them and their families, and it’s an honour to have been allowed to be there for those last moments and around that time.”

Julie is no stranger to open water swimming, having previously swam Loch Lommond for the British Heart Foundation after her husband had a quadruple bypass in 2013.

She said: “Two years ago a friend asked, ‘Who’s going to swim the River Mersey with me?’ and I said I would – I was the only one that completed it.”

Julie will also be plunging the depths of Loch Ness – without a wetsuit – in September.

She added: “I had to give up work as a community nurse because of a back problem – swimming is the only thing I can do where I don’t get as much discomfort.”

Readers may recognise Julie from Sport England’s ‘This Girl Can’ campaign, which shows her jumping into Liverpool docks.



After auditioning for a part in the campaign, Julie was shocked to learn she had become one of the featured artists.

She has also been interviewed on the One Show and will be part of a new show for ITV Wales later this year.

“I don’t do it for the cameras, I do it for me but if there’s a camera there then all the better.

“I just want people to realise it doesn’t matter what age you are, what sex you are or what ability you are, everyone can do it.”

Wirral Globe:
Julie was part of Sport England's This Girl Can campaign.

Julie spent last weekend swimming in Pickmere and hopes to spend this weekend in the River Dee.

“I don’t train, I just swim,” said Julie, who has a mermaid tattoo on her thigh in honour of her being a ‘Mersey Mermaid’.

“I just love it. When my husband had his quadruple bypass, I knew he was safe in hospital and I would just go and swim around the dock and let my worries float away. It really did save my sanity.”

To help Julie reach her fundraising target, visit: justgiving.com/Julie-Lloyd2