Jump in for a wild swim
What better way to enjoy a golden day in late summer than by taking a dip in wild waters? Ella Foote explains why she loves swimming in Britain’s seas, rivers and lakes, and urges us all to jump in
Anyone who enjoys spending time outdoors will notice seasonal changes sooner than others – outdoor swimmers are no different. I think it’s something to do with being at nose level to the earth while in the water. Like incoming rain after a spell of hot weather, I can almost smell the cooler air and the change in the plant life cycle.
I see spring and autumn as the beautiful bookends to busy summer swimming. While anyone can see the appeal of a cool dip during a UK heatwave, fewer people find the nerve to sink into water later in the year. As the sun is on its downward path towards winter, the air temperature cools, but the water holds on to its warmth, just as the trees hang on to their leaves. Cooler mornings in late summer and early autumn can offer magical conditions where the air is colder than the water, providing a cloak of mist across your chosen river, lake or pond. Knowing it will be warmer in the water than
out, this alluring overlap of the seasons provides a short spell of seriously special swimming.
I was fortunate to learn to swim at a young age and spent my childhood summers paddling, splashing and plunging into the sea on family holidays in Dorset. Rivers and lakes were reserved for more adventurous trips with school and, once at university, I fell into a routine of summer sea-dipping and regular pool swimming. In my mid-20s, I found myself drawn back to the sea and started entering sea-swimming events to raise cash for charity. I couldn’t afford the time and petrol to head to the coast every weekend, but I did live near the River Thames. I began to experiment and explore my local river, learning to embrace the sensation of duck poo between the toes and reeds brushing my legs. I soon found a few other locals who had a similar hunger for rewilding and found myself meeting strangers down country lanes and on the edge of riverbanks.
Much like the course of a river, my interest went from a small spring of an idea to flowing into all corners of my life. The love of the water was in me, I had uncovered it like a high tide exposes treasures on a beach.
I learned quickly that while my body on land is clumsy and my movement laboured, in water I am weightless, elegant and strong. I could handle the cold; I could go the distance. Soon I found myself swimming long-distance events, travelling to tackle the sea, lengths of river or loops of lakes.
In open water I feel fit, almost athletic. I have strength in my arms and shoulders to deliver a strong and consistent front crawl. I have the lung capacity and stubborn determination to continue and often surprise myself. I am able to swim into fears that I can’t seem to focus on when not in my swimsuit.
If I can’t swim, my world feels small. I miss the horizon and wide-open spaces. There is nothing like looking over an ocean, down a wide stretch of river or dipping my toe at the edge of a lake. I slow down when driving over bridges, wondering if the river below is worthy of a dip. Nothing can replicate the sensation of a wave rolling you over or the pull of a current.
Swimmers love to shout about the joys of outdoor swimming because it makes us feel alive. It is an exercise that clears the mind and tinkers with your senses. The sound of water, sight of wildlife, smell of thick wet earth, the sensation of snake-like lily-pad roots moving around your legs and the taste of water mint as you gulp for air. A pool doesn’t even come close.
“Open-water swimming is an exercise that clears the mind and tinkers with your senses”
But isn’t it dangerous? Dirty? Illegal? Despite a steady flow of beautiful books encouraging wild swimming and its increased popularity in recent years, there are still the naysayers and those who look on with nervous envy.
Of course, there are plenty of risks and you need to be smart. But providing you head to the water prepared and aware, you quickly see the appeal. I would rather the odd stingingnettle rash and mud-splattered legs than someone else’s hair wrapped around my fingers in a chlorinated pool.
MAKING A SPLASH
A few years ago, I started to document my swimming on social media, taking a photo before or after a swim. I would boldly balance my mobile phone on the riverbank and try to capture the beauty. I started to also capture people’s interest – I would get more and more questions about where to go, how to start and what to wear. I started thinking about how I could help others.
There are plenty of super organisations, groups and resources around, but I realised that not everyone has the confidence to join a bunch of existing swimmers. I’d often found myself intimidated by bodies clad in neoprene at the water’s edge. While there are plenty of brilliantly organised events for all levels of swimmer, not everyone wants to challenge themselves to swim a distance in open water
with hundreds of other people. I created
Dip Advisor to fill the gap, to help those into outdoor water who just wanted the experience of it, to answer a call within themselves to rewild their lives.
As we grow up, we lose our sense of play and adventure. It is replaced with fear and experience, which often holds us back. Offering to share my knowledge of outdoor swimming and a safe hand for support has enabled people to discover the zing of an outdoor swim. There is no pressure to swim any distance or style – I want people to swim for the love of it, swim slow and enjoy a different kind of adventure. Ella Foote is a certified open-water lifeguard and contributing editor at Outdoor Swimmer. She runs Dip Advisor and is constantly seeking new pools, rivers, lakes and seas in which to swim.