I have always had a love for the water.
I love swimming and I love the sea. I feel so incredibly lucky that Lee & I live in a little corner of North Pembrokeshire, close to the sea. Our nearest bay is about a 10 minutes walk from where we live. It’s tiny, picturesque and very unspoilt.
When we moved here in 2019, I would dip occasionally in the sea and loved it every time I went in. Last summer I met a lovely lady called Deb, just to say hello each time we met walking the dogs and so forth. She lives around the corner from me and a few mutual friends said I should go and introduce myself. They said we’d get on really well. Being a little shy, I didn’t and for one reason or another, our paths didn’t really cross. Until one day at the beginning of last July.
Lee and I had gone down to the beach after work for a dip. The weather was warm – remember last summer? It was warm and sunny more than it wasn’t! Despite the warm weather, I struggled to go straight into the water – I would mess around, oohing and ahhing at the cold water and generally making the whole thing quite painful for myself (and anyone's ears near me!).
Once I was in of course, it was lovely.
On this particular day, Deb was on the beach and I was doing my usual painful ritual of entering the sea. She just said to me “just get in – it’s much easier and much less painful – honestly just do it”.
So I did... and she was sooooo right!
We got chatting and I told her that I wanted to start swimming daily and she said she wanted to do the same. So we agreed to meet the next morning at 9.30am and since that July evening, we’ve done just that almost every day.
Our group has expanded over the months too – Lee joins us as much as he can, as well as there being 6 or 7 of us now - meaning if someone can’t make it one day, there’s nearly always someone else to swim with.
Through the summer we swam in bathers and would spend about an hour or so in the sea – lots of swimming, but probably even more chat!
As the autumn came, the swimming continued but it was a bit cold to hang around too much. In October I bought a cold water coat to put on after our swims; by November wetsuits were donned but we still swam every day and were staying in for about 40 minutes, thanks to the wetsuits. Come December, still going strong but boy, is it cold!
Christmas Day was an epic swim – the sun was shining, it was cold, crisp and just beautiful. We all agreed it was the perfect swim.
New Year's Day was just as good - the perfect hangover cure after hearing out the New Year bongs with a glass of something bubbly the night before.
It’s now the end of January and we are still swimming and still loving it. Come rain, shine, sleet (yes really) and even snow (which was amazing!) – we swim.
For me, apart from meeting friends, swimming is more than the exercise.
I do feel like I’m getting some exercise – without it feeling like exercise, but I feel like the cold is good for my body and my mind too.
It’s invigorating, uplifting, so much fun and a great way to start the day, ready for making organic skincare and answering all of your lovely calls and emails.
My morning swim lifts my mood, makes me feel so alive and puts a smile on my face that can last all day.
On the rare occasion I can’t swim, I miss it. A lot. But I always appreciate the next swim even more.
To top it off – and probably the most important thing – is that I’ve met some really lovely people that I’m grateful to call friends.
I feel very lucky indeed.
Angela x
PS: Do you enjoy cold water swimming, whether it be in the sea, in a lake or maybe a lido near you? Or perhaps you have another love that gives you enjoyment and peace of mind - if so, I'd love to know! x
