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Hi everyone 👋
Fancy dipping your toe into the world of swimming outdoors? We asked Much Better Adventures to share a handy guide, to inspire you to take the dive. And we thought that for our Summer on the O2 Community, you would be more than interested in seeing this as well!
Taking a dip in a lake. Making the mad dash into the North Sea in March. There is something oddly attractive about swimming outdoors or, as it’s often known, wild swimming.
What is wild swimming?
Wild swimming is, to all intents and purposes, going swimming outside in a natural pool of water. That pool might be at a bend in a river, or it might be the sea. The important thing is that there are no man-made structures. You decide if you want salt water or fresh water. It’s the kind of activity that an older generation would roll their eyes at and say, “When I was your age, that was just called swimming!” And they wouldn’t be wrong.
Swimming in rivers and lakes is very popular in Europe, although wild swimming has become a bit of a buzz word in the UK (rather like wild camping). Not that that means we don’t think it’s a fun thing to jump in a cold tarn or dash into the ocean. In Europe, it’s very normal to see people floating down the wide Swiss rivers in the summer, with specially made float bags, or going for their morning swim in the local river. In the UK it seems to be more of a solitary sport. A way to head out for a quiet bit of personal time with nature…and probably a chance to get very cold.
Why do people go wild swimming?
If you, like many people, have never been wild swimming you might be wondering why anyone wants to do it. Particularly with the lovely picture we’ve painted in the UK of cold and wet and lonely. Well, we could speculate. But instead, we went out and asked some wild swimmers to tells us in their own words.
Lindsey Cole, best known for walking the Rabbit Proof Fence and swimming dressed as a Mermaid, says, “It makes us feel alive. When I’m feeling sad it makes me feel better. When I’m feeling fine it makes me feel like the love child of She-Ra and Indiana Jones!” Many others said a similar thing – about making them feel invincible. “It makes every cell in my body feel alive, like I’m the most awake and present in my body I’ve ever been,” said Aoife Glass.
Then there’s the challenge. Serial wild swimmer Phoebe Sleath explains: “Because if I can get myself to swim in the North Sea in March, then I can do anything. Because when I tell my friends I want to go swimming and I see the look of disbelief on their faces, I know I need to prove them wrong. I guess it sounds crazy and it puts me in a group with the wild and the adventurous.”
Other people have found wild swimming helping them in times of illness. “Due to chronic pain,” said wild swimmer Nicola, “I can’t do much else at the moment. It’s been a real lifesaver over the last few months. It boosts my mood and a lot of the enjoyment is down to the community. I love my swim friends and feel part of something again. I’m more of a dipper and cake-eater swimmer.”
Feeling inspired to take the plunge? Read on for top tips on equipment and wild swimming destinations.
Fancy taking a dip yourself now? Or are you already an avid wild swimmer?
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@Anonymous wrote:I guess I can add wild swimmer (retired) to my resume 😉
🤣You and me both, @Anonymous - altho all those mad Northern Europeans, or so I thought at the time, who swam in the Med in January probably found it warm compared to swimming in the Atlantic in July around these shores..
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Where we had our apartment in Spain I was often down at the seafront by 8am as the bank opened then. It was amazing to see the amount of people taking an early morning swim at any month of the year. Some people have preconceived ideas that the Mediterranean is always warm. Believe me, in January, February and March it isn't. I certainly didn't swim then but even paddling was freezing. Got chatting to someone in her 60's and she told me she was swimming from 7.30am onwards for at least an hour every day, winter and summer. Looked well on it is all I can say.
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@Cleoriff wrote:....Got chatting to someone in her 60's and she told me she was swimming from 7.30am onwards for at least an hour every day, winter and summer. Looked well on it is all I can say.
She was actually only 25......😂
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Thank you @TheresaV for an interesting subject for Summer In The Community.
Never went Wild Swimming and won`t be now, but nevertheless good to hear that some benefit from it.
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Yes @Anonymous - St. Andrews beach below the Old Golf Course is fine for a BBQ in July, but the sea is still too cold to run into above the waist...
In fact, the Atlantic off Tenerife's south coast is only warm for about the first couple of feet if that - put your feet down below that, in an upright posture, and it is decidedly "fresh".
Can't speak for the Falklands, but penguins usually means "cold' 🐧
