Sixty-foot waves, nosy killer whales, hypothermia, tongue rot. Ultra-athlete Ross Edgley attempts to swim all the way around Iceland - 1000 miles of icy water.
The record-breaking swimmer makes a journey around Iceland's coastline, swimming 1000 miles over 116 days in some of the most inhospitable waters on Earth. In the first episode, Ross begins his marathon aquatic adventure on Iceland's west coast, battling hypothermia, seasickness, tongue rot and extreme isolation. As killer whales visit the swim, a unique science project gets underway.
Ross takes on the north of Iceland. As storms roll in from the Arctic, Ross faces huge seas, currents that send him backwards and freezing waters fed by Greenland's rapidly melting ice sheets. As he reaches the Arctic Circle, the crew celebrate, but Ross' body begins to fail. Exhaustion and rotting salt wounds threaten deadly cellulitis. After 60 punishing days, and 438 miles, he is badly behind schedule.
Three months in to the swim, deadly muscle collapse looms with the strain of swimming two marathons a day. From a surprise fly-by from the Royal Navy to a glimpse of the rapidly melting Vatnajökull glacier, Ross swims onwards through the tail end of a hurricane across monster seas. After 114 days and 1000 miles, the epic swim ends with a spectacular send-off from the northern lights.
