Wild Swimming

I like living in Weston, but often feel a little disheartened by our brown sea. One of my favourite things to do in the whole world is to swim in open water, I got into it in a big way last year and often feel the pull to do it, ever stronger as the weather heats up and the nights get lighter. But up until last year, I had never swam in the sea in my home town. Blue sea always feels nicer! But the pull is getting stronger and I realised it was silly to have to drive for ages to swim, when I could potentially do it on my doorstep. In February this year, I headed over to Middle Hope (if you don’t know it, head to the end of Sandbay, park up, walk over the hill, turn right and walk for a bit until you come to a lovely little bay) with my wetsuit and got in. It was exhilarating, if a little freezing and choppy. So, this Easter Monday just gone it was a beautiful day  and I felt compelled to get swimming. My 2 year old actually planted the seed in my head, by looking at the colour of the sky and asking ‘Mumma, you gonna go for a swim today?’

We headed out, and I was thrilled when I came over the headland and saw that the sunlight and blue sky were causing an optical illusion and making the sea seem blue! It was so calm and flat, and a lovely swim. I floated in the sea and watched the red sun sink below the horizon and the sky turn pink. And I fell in love with my little home town all over again. (I’ve kind of not been in love with it for a while.)

I’d encourage you to try it, if you haven’t before. A wetsuit helps. You need to be a reasonably strong swimmer, as swimming in the sea is much harder than a pool. Knowing the tide times is CRUCIAL for safety, especially in Weston where the tide goes out so quickly. I would only EVER swim in Weston when the tide is nearly at its highest and still coming in. Don’t swim on your own. But on that note, I am always happy to have company on my swims, so perhaps you might like to join me one day?