Experience You Can Trust - The Mermazing Swimming® Limited Story

Mermazing Swimming® Limited is proudly owned and run by husband‑and‑wife team Barry and Melanie Dobbie — two lifelong water‑lovers who love nothing more than spending time in the pool with their children. Seeing the overwhelming demand for high‑quality, supportive swimming lessons in the area, they created Mermazing Swimming® Limited to give families a place where confidence, safety and joy in the water can grow.

Melanie began her swimming‑teaching journey in 2012 while on maternity leave with her eldest daughter, and she’s never looked back. Over the years she has taught across the full spectrum of aquatic learning: baby swimming, learn‑to‑swim, adult beginners, phobia support, aqua natal, competitive coaching, and specialist instruction for children with complex additional needs. If it involves water, she’s taught it — and loved it.

Her academic work deepened that passion even further. Melanie’s dissertation focused on trauma‑informed swimming practices, exploring how the pool can become a safe, empowering space for people who have experienced fear, overwhelm or trauma. This research became the heartbeat of the Mermazing Method© — a way of teaching that honours each swimmer’s story while guiding them toward confidence and joy in the water and underpins her teaching philosophy; shaping lessons that are gentle, attuned, and built around trust, safety and emotional wellbeing.

“I truly believe everyone can learn to enjoy the water, feel safe, and make swimming part of their life for fun and fitness. I absolutely love what I do and feel incredibly lucky to have built a career around helping people of all ages and abilities discover their confidence in the water. There’s nothing better than seeing that smile when a new skill finally clicks.”
— Melanie Dobbie, Mermazing Swimming® Limited