Our earlymorning swims are wonderful
However dark, however chilly, at 6am most Wednesday mornings, Helen Davis, 51, will pull up at Dead Man’s Corner – a beauty spot on the River Cam – to join her swimming buddies Kate, 47, and Jo, 57.
‘We’re all keen swimmers and met at the swimming pool, training with our local triathlon club,’ says Helen, a sports psychologist from Cambridge. ‘When the pool had to close for the first COVID-19 lockdown, we moved to the river – and even though we’re now back to our usual pool training, we still get together for weekly river dips.
‘Despite its rather ominous name, Dead Man’s Corner is an ideal spot for swimming, and even has a ladder into the river. Kate and Jo are more experienced at openwater swimming than I am, and they tend to go a bit further than me. But we all start off together, chatting as we swim upstream. We always have towels and hot flasks waiting for us when we clamber out of the river, and we’ll often stay on for a bit of cake.
‘It’s fantastic being out so early, with ducks quacking around our feet – but we’ve also had a lot of midnight swims, joined by my husband Rob (aka Lunarman!), 51, when there’s a full moon to light up the place.
‘Just being out in nature is wonderful – especially if we get to see an owl while we’re swimming – but being with two such special friends has also been a great support during the pandemic.
‘We’ve all had issues to share and have got to know each other so much better than when we were training in the pool. We’ve become a little swimming family – sharing articles about swimming on our WhatsApp group – and Jo has even had matching “Winter Swimming Buddies” sweatshirts made for us!’
‘It’s fantastic having ducks quacking at our feet’