Wild Lakeland swim

Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria

t’s lovely once you’re in” comes the shout from the water to the ankle-deep ditherers. Wild swimming is one of the great mindover-matter challenges – the lure of cool water on a hot day, the intangible thrill of the unknown.

It’s an activity that has become more than just a quick splash and paddle in the heat of summer, with people taking to the water all year round. So why do so many people love it?

ISWIMMING FOR THE SOUL

Wild swimming is a great equaliser, one of life’s simplest pleasures requiring next to no equipment or money. If you can swim, you can swim wild.

Swimming in general is fantastic as an exercise or a leisure pursuit. Leave aches and pains on the shore as you float, entirely supported, and enjoy the anti-inflammatory effect of cooler water. For many people, unheated natural water brings mental clarity and a chance to press reset. Rhythmic strokes in open water or a pool create a meditative state, helping to clear your mind and calm your thoughts.

In our comfortable and convenient modern lives, we have lost the ability to be uncomfortable. We have power, light, warmth, food, information, all at the flick of a switch. We are frequently frazzled and overstimulated by the pace of life. Wild swimming strips you back to basics and asks you to leave it all behind: phone, car keys, wallet. Those security blankets of modern life are no use to you in the water. It’s just you and the swim.

INTO THE LAKES

My love of swimming wild developed out of necessity and curiosity. When I moved from

“WILD SWIMMING BRINGS MENTAL CLARITY AND A CHANCE TO PRESS RESET”

Coventry, with its 50m indoor pool, to Keswick in Cumbria, the only options for a decent swim were a 30-minute drive away. Or the lake. My friend Jude was already a committed daily lake swimmer and one morning she enticed me down to Derwentwater for my first swim. I’ve not looked back since. It’s even my full-time job now!

Swimming in lakes and wild water gave me a fresh perspective on the landscape that I was already familiar with as a fell walker. Now I enjoy both. Walks are no longer just walks, they are routes to new and interesting places to swim.

BASSENTHWAITE BATHING

Derwentwater will always have a special place in my heart but I have other favourites, too. Crummock Water is where I swim most regularly but it’s