A chance encounter at the swimming pool last night has relit my interest in wild swimming. I may have lain dormant because of the cold weather, but last summer, I spent lots of time gazingatwater. This new interest has been inspired by watching the wild swimming programme on the BBC last year. The programme took Dr Alice Roberts on a wild swimming journey that followed Roger Deakin's travels around the UK to find the best outdoor places to swim.
I read Roger Deakin's inspirational book Waterlog and the bug had me.
However, I found I was too nervous to enter the local rivers on my own and settled for a swim in the sea near Beaumaris. I knew this was safe as I had spent my childhood on these beaches, in and out of the water.
Last night, I took myself off to the local pool as a break from the running and to unwind after work. Usually, I get snippets of conversation as the drift past my ears, a complaint about a husband or friend, never something to inspire me. Until last night, I overheard a conversation about swimming in the River Derwent that I felt compelled to gatecrash.
I am now sitting with the excitement of knowing someone who goes Wild Swimming and is a member of a group that does it. It's too cold to go yet, but it gives me time to keep working on getting fitter and find a wetsuit.
