WHILE many of us are thinking about crossing the English Channel for a week's holiday in France, one Barrow lady will be making the journey by swimming through the waves, clad in just her swimming costume and goggles to try and conquer her biggest challenge yet.

Becky Lewis, a 32-year-old physiotherapist, holds the British Ladies record for the fastest swim time across the channel with a time of eight hours 35 minutes.

However, this year she will push herself to the limit as she attempts to swim the across the Channel and back again without a stop.

She said: "Swimmers have the option of getting out of the water for a 10 minute break, but I don't think anybody really does that. I will probably just keep going to stop myself cramping up."

Becky, of Little Urswick, hopes to complete the swim somewhere in the region of 20 hours. Of course the weather and tides will play a huge part in deciding how she fares.

She said: "The wind can make a huge difference to your time. Obviously I won't be setting off until conditions are optimum but my time could be anywhere around the 20-something mark."

Becky trains up to nine times every week when she is preparing for a Channel swim, mostly in Coniston and Windermere, where she swims alongside her father Roger Lewis, who accompanies her in his canoe.

Becky will make the journey down to Dover on Tuesday July 26 with her parents Roger and Katie, where she will wait for her pilot to tell her when the conditions are best suited for a swim. She must swim at neap tide, when the difference between high and low tide is the least, without too much wind.

Becky said: "I set off from Shakespeare Beach or Samphire Hoe, jump in, then swim to shore and set off."

Becky expects to be in the water for somewhere around the day marker and for most people, spending a full day and night ploughing through the waves of the very cold Channel seems unfathomable.

So just how does Becky do it? She said: "When I'm in the water I usually do little sums in my head working out how long it will be until my next feed time, which is every 40 minutes. Or I try to break down the distance into laps of Windermere or Coniston. There are all sorts of ways that swimmers pass the time in the water. I met a gentleman at a training camp who said that he plans out all of his 10 favourite meals in his head. I tried that but I found that I was too busy doing my sums and didn't have time for it. Everybody is different."

Every 40 minutes Becky will have a drink and a Maxim energy gel but no food. In the weeks building up to the event she usually eats a lot of carbohydrates such as pasta to build up her energy.

Becky has attempted the there-and-back-again crossing once before, but left it until too late in the year and was unable to find suitable conditions. This time in July she is very hopeful that the swim will be a success. She said: "It can sometimes be a bit frustrating with all of the waiting around in Dover but really I love the whole experience, I enjoy all the preparation and the trip down there with my parents.

"However, what I enjoy most about swimming the Channel is the feeling I get when I have completed it. The elation far outweighs all the hardships of the training and physical exertion."

During her past crossings, fearless Becky has braved not only the freezing cold water but also challenges such as clouds of jellyfish.

This year Becky will be raising money for Jo's Appeal - the charity set up in memory of Evening Mail journalist Jo Davies - and people can donate to her page at www.crowdfunding.justgiving.com/Double-Channel-Swim.