An epic attempt by two swimmers to be the first to cross the treacherous waters of Bardsey Sound off the coast of north Wales without wetsuits will be shown on television next month.

Teacher Wyn Rowlands and artist Natasha Brookes spent nine months preparing for the challenging two-mile swim through the churning currents of the Irish Sea between Bardsey Island – Ynys Enlli - and the rocky cliffs off the tip of the Llyn Peninsula.

Their efforts were followed by a camera crew for a major new three-part television series, Llanw (Tide), made by Caernarfon-based television company Cwmni Da.

They filmed on four continents, taking in 10 countries and the Arctic for the £600,000 series about the world’s tides which is being screened on S4C next month (June) as well as in Ireland and Scotland and in the Far East.

The is a first ever collaboration between Celtic television channels,  S4C, TG4 in the Republic of Ireland, BBC Northern Ireland and MG Alba in Scotland as well as LIC, the largest independent television production company in China.

The first programme in the three-part series will be shown on S4C at 8pm on Sunday, 2 June.

Wyn, 62, a former lighthouse-keeper who learned to swim as a boy on nearby Nefyn beach, and Natasha, 40, from Anglesey, an experienced open water swimmer and surfer, made their attempt last July but even in the hottest summer for years the sea waters were still chillingly cold.

Wyn, whose work often took him to Bardsey as a relief lighthouse-keeper, said: “It was a lovely day for a swim, the conditions couldn’t have been better but it’s a big lump of cold water, something that one’s not used to.”

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