Jump in now

There can be few places more beautiful to swim than Bantry Bay, in South West Ireland. The harbour is narrow and deep, and blue-green mountains surround it, cows and sheep on their lower slopes. A few fishing boats bob near the shore. A gaff-rigged sailing boat tacks out towards the open sea. By a graveyard that runs down the steep field at the end of the town, I jumped in and shrieked. The Atlantic is cold, this wet and chilly July. Sean stood on the shore with a towel and showed no sign of wanting to join me. I've done quite a lot of wild swimming this year, with various members of my family. In February, the estuary at Pin Mill was shallow and silted and sharp stones cut into our feet as we winced our way towards deeper water, which took too long to get to. Our flesh turned blue. Dunwich in March was shocking; it took hours to feel warm again afterwards. But the waves were big and exhilarating and the dog was happy. At Easter-time, the River Severn in Bewdley was just a token gesture - a quick immersion into the swollen, inhospitable waters. Woodbridge in May in the pouring rain was muddy and tidal. The river Cam in June was lovely, though - the day was sunny and the water was cool not icy. Punts got in the way. I often think that swimming is the closest we get to flying - moving in three dimensions, buoyed up by water, not air. This kind of swimming, though, often isn't like flying at all, more like falling. I'm not quite sure what the great pleasure is - you wade over oyster shells that cut your feet or through nettles and brambles that tear your skin; you struggle out of your clothes that you manage to leave in a puddle or on a patch of tar; you get very cold. But it is a pleasure, a kind of freedom. Roger Deakin wrote about so wonderfully it in Waterlog: A Swimmer's Journey Through Britain. See a river, a lake, a sea, and jump in. If it's still raining, all the better. 

 







Nicci Gerrard

nicci@dircon.co.uk

Web: http://www.niccifrench.co.uk

Blog: http://niccifrench.typepad.com/theniccifrenchblog/