Guerrilla Swimming

 

It's approaching 1700hrs on a hot and sultry Friday afternoon.  I look over the office partition in to the next bay and get a nod from a co-worker.  The guerrilla swim is on!

After-Work Wild Swim

After a hot week in the office, a little detour en route home to swim in a river!

 

I only seems a short time since I last posted about this fantastic swimming location. Time flies eh? 

Waterlog: The Moat

Just to give you a flavour of Roger Deakin's Waterlog,

• The warm rain tumbled from the gutter in one of those midsummer downpours as I hastened across the lawn behind my house in Suffolk and took shelter in the moat.  Breaststroking up and down the thirty yards of clear, green water, I nosed along, eyes just at water level.  The frog's-eye view of rain on the moat was magnificent.  Rain calms water, it freshens it, sinks all the floating pollen, dead bumblebees and other flotsam.  Each raindrop exploded in a momentary, bouncing fountain that turned into a bubble and burst.  The best moments were when the storm intensified, drowning birdsong, and a haze rose off the water as though the moat itself were rising to meet the lowering sky.  Then the rain eased and the reflected heavens were full of tiny dancers; water sprites springing up on tiptoe like bright pins over the surface.  It was raining water sprites.

This is truly a love letter to swimming and one of the great adventure/nature books.  Get inspired for the lighter evenings!

Wild Swimming

Wild swimming time is nearly upon us.  My local watering hole is one of several marked on this map from the Outdoor Swimming Society (good work guys).  I am going to see if I can tick a few of these venues off over the course of the year.  RALSA (The River & Lake Swimming Association) have a similar index of places to swim.

When wild swimming in the UK, you'll see plenty of signs warning of deep water, forbidding paddling or swimming, and, carrying a variety of other intimidating messages (many of them a consequence of the Draconian 1984 Occupiers, Liability Act).  But where does the law stand on this issue?

Things are restricted in England and Wales (unlike Scotland where they have right of access secured by the Scottish Land Reform Act of 2003).  From Waterlog by Roger Deakin, 'only where a river is navigable do you have rights of access along its bank' (p33, Deakin 1999), and tidal waters (with exceptions - check local bye laws).  This right extends to places where there exists a historical precedent, custom, longstanding tradition or established use.  Swimming in reservoirs is a 'no no'!  (Take this last one from someone who was caught by the fish-Fuzz doing just that).

Access to the water is a trickier thing altogether.  When determining access think public rights of way, bridges and footpaths, lake shores and fjords.  If confronted, be aware that for a start, trespassers CANNOT be prosecuted (trespass is covered by civil law of Tort and not criminal law, and you can only be prosecuted under criminal law).  If you are courteous and have not led the landowner to incur damage by your actions then there is little the landowner can do, short of requesting you leave the water.  You are within your rights to request proof of identity or authority.  If you are on a public footpath then you cannot be asked to move on.
 
You can find more details here and here. There are plenty of grey areas, but be discreet and you should be ok!

The other big scare tactic is Weils Disease.  This is a bacteria (Leptospira) carried in the urine of rats, cattle or dogs which enters the human body through lesions in the skin or 'mucous surfaces' (nose, mouth or conjunctiva)

To Roger Deakin's Waterlog once more, in which he quotes epidemiological research from the University of Bristol,

•  "There are on average each year in the UK, some 2.5 cases of Weil's disease associated with bathing and water sports (ie one case among every two million annual recreational water users).  As the case fatality rate in the UK is 10-15%, the chance of dying from Weil's disease associated with bathing and water sports is about 1:20 million expose persons"

The bottom line is to go see a doctor if you suffer from any 'flu like symptoms.

Volume Week 5 W/O1

We've just had a bit of an Indian summer here in the UK.  Family Asclepius headed off to the local river for a swim.  It is crazy to think that wild swimming in October should be as hot as wild swimming in April - both of which were hotter than any UK-based wild swimming I did over summer!

The photo above of Captain Kid and I, and the one in the link, were taken at the same venue from pretty much the same position.  The foliage behind pretty much tells its own story - along with the detritus washed down to the damn in the April-shot.

Warm Up (5 minutes)
Main (40 minutes).
1. Stairgators (1)
2. Barefoot Sprinting (1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s)
3a. MU to Ring Routine (4, 4, 4)
3b. Pistols (assisted: 10, 10, 10)
4a. Scissor Splits (2L, 2R, 3C)
4b. Planche Variations (20s, 25s, 20s)
4c. Golfers Elbow Drumstick Rotation (10)
5. Barefoot Kill Carry (1)
6. 321 (All 4 down the rung sizes)

Some More Random Play

The half term has brought a break from training.  That does not mean inactivity, it just means a bit more in the way of fun and general, random play.

This morning kicked off with a long hot walk to the butchers and returning for a fry up.  We barefooted to most of the way - despite the hot pavement.  After the fry up we headed out for some scrambling and caving.  Flash showed some serious bravery in leading the caving expedition.  Captain Kid also did a turn in the spooky 'rear guard' position.  Caving can be scary but not as scary as scrambling....

We are blessed with lots of crags around us and so both Captain Kid and Flash went off exploring.  They both showed promising climbing skills as they headed up over rocks to investigate various caves and tunnels.

We finished with a dip in the local river.  It was quite refreshing and no where near as cold as the other week.  Both stripped down to their birthday suits for a quick dip.  The shot above captures a post-dip period of reflection!  Flash just won't stay still, and Captain Kid struck a more serious note.  Bless 'em.

It is great having kids, and sure there are stressful moments with getting them ready to go out or getting them to tidy up their mess, but heck, if you let them lead things for a day, fun and adventure is never far away.  I love them to bits.  Both of them!

After-Work Wild Swim

It was a hot day - the first real hot one of the year.  So, after a day in a hot, stuffy office I headed out after work for a swim.  Absolutely invigorating.  It is nice to live close to the ground once in a while.

The photo is taken from my phone - propped up in my trainer! All my kit was actually on a dam wall. The sticks in the foreground are in shallow water which quickly deepens at the point you see me splashing around.

After I dried off I headed home with the stereo blasting and blue skies above.  I really couldn't wipe the grin from my face.

*UPDATE:  I just want to add that at as we enjoyed a cloudless sky, at lunchtime I spent 30 minutes sunbathing.  I work next to a leisure centre with a secluded courtyard bordered by plenty of trees.  I just put on my headphones and gently walked in a circuit (wearing just my shorts), trying to top up on VitD.

I usually supplement VitD over winter, but stop when the clocks change.  In fact I have reason to believe I was overdoing the VitD....

Crib Goch and Padarn Wild Swim

In preparation for the Welsh 14 (15) Three Thousands I did a recce over Crib Goch and a decent back in to Nant Peris. After a lunchtime break I undertook a short recon from Nant Peris towards Elidir Fawr. I have done the route before but made a few navigational errors that I don't wish to repeat. We covered about ten miles in all and are well placed to complete the walk proper.

This also gave me a chance to try out my Vibrams in a more severe setting. They performed excellently over the ridge and I have full confidence now in completing the Fourteen Three-thousands in them in a month's time.

One area of concern is walking in the dark with them. Stubbing a toe or a footfall on to sharp rock can smart a wee bit. When tired at the end of a long route, and in failing light, you cannot simply bulldozer through rough ground in VFFs the way you can in boots. But I feel sufficiently adapted in them to complete the tricky last section of this walk in them if we can optimise completion of the first two sections of this walk (to Ogwen Cottage).

We were treated to some fantastic weather in the afternoon, and on packing our tents/kit away, headed in to Llanberis were I took the opportunity for a quick dip in to Llyn Padarn. The water was much warmer than the Irish Sea over Christmas - but still refreshingly cool and rather invigorating (and still 'Five Fingered' as you can see above!).

A quick towel-dry and then off to Pete's Eats for a spectacular 'Even Bigger Breakfast' - aka 'The Big Jim', and a couple of mugs of coffee with some complementary cake. The service was excellent and the food exceedingly good.

A great weekend - satisfying throughout and my return tonight offers the chance to spend tomorrow with my kids. I can't wait to tell them about the trip and to formulate our own little plan to get them up in to high and wild places in the not-too-distant future!

Robson Green: Wild Swim

'Housewife's favourite' Robson Green features in a new program called 'Robson Green's Wild Swimming Adventure'.

I don't really watch much TV and can't say I would feature in Robson's natural demographic, but this program, the first episode of two which was shown this evening, actually proved quite interesting:

• Actor Robson Green undertakes an aquatic journey through the wild waters of Britain in this new two part documentary series for ITV1. From a decidedly shaky start in the Tyne to his ultimate goal to swim to Holy Island off the coast of his native North East, the programme charts Robson’s adventures as he swims his way through lidos, tidal pools, lakes, rivers and seas.

Taking its lead from The Outdoor Swimming Association founder Kate Rew's book, Wild Swim, Green goes for a dunk in various locations in an around the UK.

Of particular note are his swims around Burgh Island in Devon - which I have always wanted to do ever since visiting the place back in 1996 (I didn't have my cold water 'hustle' on back then) and Llynn LLydaw, in the Snowdonia National Park (my spiritual home). Whilst next weeks' episode features a swim in the mighty Corryvreckan. A feature that I have sailed passed - and it scared the Jesus out of me. I never thought you could swim it - but now I know better, my next visit to Scotland will be with real purpose!

Until then I have my annual St. Stephen's Day/Boxing Day dip in the Irish Sea to look forwards to. I initially prepared for this by finishing my morning shower with two minutes or so under the cold tap. That was about three years ago and is something I have done just about this every day since and continue to do so.

I will try to post up a photo this year!

Bettystown Swim

So today I did my annual 'Bettystown Swim'. Bettystown is just north of Dublin and home to probably the shallowest sea ever!

The beach was busy with walkers (all wrapped up), taking in a 'constitutional' after 24 hours of excess. It was VERY cold getting out of the car. I walked as close to the sea as I could and then stripped off to my shorts (no wet suit,naturally!).

I then began sprinting in to the sea. And I kept sprinting. After 100m my knees were barely in the sea so I had to keep going. Eventually it became waist deep and so I went for a dive under.

I could eventually feel a numbness setting in to my feet after a few minutes, but really, I was surprised at how 'OK' it felt. After two years of cold showers I think my body has adapted well to working in the cold. A few minutes was enough - and out I came.

Whilst on the beach Captain Kid was scared of crabs and sand worm tracks. Flash was amused be her Dad's behaviour as much as the surf - but we all returned to the warmth of the car with colour in our cheeks and feeling better for the fresh air.

I am looking forwards to next year.