Why we're raising money to improve access: Peyton’s story

Peyton Vellaa has been living in East Sussex for about 14 years.

Peyton is an attorney for an elderly family with disabilities. Peyton is a full-time wheelchair user, which comes with a lot of challenges. She says that she’s had to learn to adapt to the world around her and there are days when she has to deal with people being inconsiderate, such as when able-bodied people park in disabled bays.

Peyton says that because of the many challenges she’s faced, she stopped joining in and going out. But in 2024, she was confident enough to visit Sea Lanes in Brighton. She spoke to staff and on 2 February that year, she was able to get into the water using the pool’s hoist.

She says the first time she got into the water, she felt free, with no restrictions. She’d found her happy place; she could excel and fit in. She hasn’t looked back – she’s been swimming regularly and has also swum for charity.

In February 2025, Pink Nicky, who runs the Big Swim in Brighton, invited Peyton to become the disability ambassador and to encourage disabled women to take part.

On 8 March 2025, the Sea Lanes Lifeguard team: Paul Young (who also works at Pells Pool), Jon and Hildi, supported Peyton when she took part in a sea swim to celebrate International Women’s Day. This allowed Peyton to review the event to make it more accessible for 2026.

Peyton is excited that other pools are working to improve access and wants to thank the Pells’ management team, Phil and Leanne, for coming to Sea Lanes to see the hoist and accessible steps in action, and then for the Pells team to decide to raise money to replace the access ramp at Pells.

Peyton also wants to thank Pells lifeguards Hannah, Toby and Paul who are running the Brighton 10k in April to help raise funds.

Please support our lifeguards by donating and sharing their JustGiving page, so more people can enjoy the healing cold water of Pells Pool.