London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

‘Human swan’ to make 3,000-mile UK flight to raise climate awareness

‘Human swan’ to make 3,000-mile UK flight to raise climate awareness

Sacha Dench to fly anticlockwise around coast of British mainland, starting and finishing near Glasgow

A woman dubbed “the human swan” has said she is feeling excited as she prepares to launch a world-first circumnavigation of mainland Britain in a paraglider powered with an electric engine, to raise awareness about climate change.

Sacha Dench is making the 3,000-mile journey to mark the Cop26 UN climate change conference taking place in Glasgow later this year.

She will take off from a location near Glasgow on Monday 21 June, weather permitting, in an adapted electric paramotor, flying anti-clockwise around the coast and returning to land in the area approximately six weeks later.

The Australian is known for global expeditions with migratory species but has turned her focus to the climate crisis after losing her family home to bushfires last year.

Dench said: “I’m going to be trying to fly a complete circumnavigation of mainland Britain in an electric-powered paramotor, and I’m doing it to try and demonstrate just how far we can go in terms of decarbonising our transport and our lifestyles in general.

“The real thing we’re hoping to do though is make use of the journey and the fact that I have to stop frequently to change batteries to stop and land and speak to people who have solutions for climate change, because there are lots of people with brilliant ideas, brilliant projects already in train, that I think can show us that whilst Britain drove the industrial revolution, we can drive the green revolution too.

“We’re doing it in the run-up to Cop26 – if Britain is going to host the global conference on climate change then it’s the best time for the whole country to rally behind big actions, big bold actions from the politicians.”

Asked how she feels about the journey she said: “I’m feeling excited, feeling a bit nervous, I’m feeling excited about it, I’m really interested to see how the country responds and I’m most fascinated to hear the stories of people all around the country.

“I think it’s going to be a really interesting and inspiring journey, and who knows how the electric paramotor will fare? No-one has ever done a long journey in an electric powered paramotor before, but I’ve got an excellent ground crew and team behind me so we’ve got the best chance of success that we can try for.”

The expedition, sponsored by EDF, is described as an extreme test over challenging landscapes.

Sacha Dench with her adapted electric paramotor.


The electric paramotor will replace the usual two-stroke engine Dench has used for long expeditions.

She hopes to set a new Guinness world record for the fastest, and first, flight around Britain in a paramotor – and the first long-distance expedition attempted with an electric paramotor.

She said it gives a fascinating perspective on life below, while passing birds are not too bothered by her presence.

Dench said: “You do get incredible views, but they also put a lot of the issues in this country in context, so you really see a landscape and how everything fits together, so that is really fascinating.

“But it is beautiful up there as well. Learning to understand and read the air, flying like the birds, they tend to just see you as another flying aircraft when you’re in the air, particularly with the electric paramotor which is so silent.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
×