go skinny dipping!
Jeni Orme feels liberated after ditching her clothes
Running into the sea, I let my body submerge beneath the waves. Behind me, a group of 400 swimmers followed. we were all different ages, from all different places, but we had one thing in common – we were all completely naked.
As a 50-something, you might think I sound too old for this sort of high jinks, but I’d never felt so free!
I haven’t always been so daring, though. Growing up, I prided myself on being the perfect student. I never once got grounded and very rarely travelled.
After graduating from art school, I went on to have my daughter Josephine, and her dad and I got married in the summer of 1987.
When Josephine started school, I began working as a teaching assistant and a school photographer. I loved my life, but slowly, my husband and I started to drift apart. In 2005, we decided to separate.
Five years later, with Josephine busy at college, I suddenly found myself very alone – and unsure what to do next. That’s when I realised, what I really wanted was some fun.
When I saw an advert for the Outdoor Swimming Society, I was curious. I’d never been a big swimmer, but the thought of swimming in lakes and rivers seemed far more exciting than doing lengths.
I contacted the society and arranged to join a local group, then, in December 2010, I went to my first river swim in Pangbourne, close to my home.
There were men and women from their mid 20s to 60s, and everyone was so friendly. ‘Is this your first time?’ one asked, before offering to swim with me.
We jumped in together, and the shock of the freezing water made me gasp. But after a few seconds, I began to enjoy the cold water on my skin. And instead of worrying what was lurking beneath me, I found it surprisingly easy to relax.
A week later, I was itching to get back into the water again. So I did another group outdoor swim – and then another.
My stamina gradually improved and in June 2011, I went along to a solstice swim – where you swim as the sun goes down, with only lights to guide you.
My group had been joking about doing it naked and, as I stood there looking at the moonlit water, I decided I really did want to try it. Yes, it was out of character, but suddenly I found myself unfastening my swimming costume.
‘I’m going to skinny dip!’ I called out, before stripping off and sprinting to the water. It was dark, so I didn’t care about my wobbly bits. Thankfully, some of the other women joined me and we waded our way through the water until we were fully submerged.
At the next solstice swim, that December, I stripped off again and I surprised myself with just how confident I felt being naked in front of other people.
Now I swim three or four times a week and at least one of those will be a skinny dip. Often I’ll go on my own and swim as the sun comes up. It really helps to clear my head. When I’m swimming, I have time alone with my thoughts, which helps to prepare me for the day ahead.
In June 2012, along with 400 others, I ran naked into the Welsh sea at Rhossili beach to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. We made it into the Guinness World Records as part of the biggest group to skinny dip together.
Josephine, then 26, thought it was great. ‘I’m really proud of you, Mum,’ she told me. And I was proud of me, too.
Skinny dipping is exhilarating and I’ve got no plans to stop. I might not have been a daredevil growing up, but at 59, I’m certainly making up for it!
‘I WANTED some FUN’