Winter swimming is all about the zing, the thrill, often how ridiculous it seems to submerge yourself in the searing cold of a chilly river or reservoir when all around you are huddled up indoors. Yet, it always draws me back.
Why? Because the satisfaction of those cosy clothes, the hot water bottle, cupping a warm mug, eating that cake are all the greater for having been exposed to nature in all its raw chilliness.
It’s an opportunity to connect with friends and strangers at a time of year when our outdoor communities can often drift apart. These connections over winter are so important to keep my head lifted from the slump of shorter daylight hours and inclement weather. They don’t need to be huge adventures as proven, a few years ago, on my first ever ice swim
We’d had snow a few days before and as I drove past, our regular swim spot was looking stunningly calm and inviting. A delicious backdrop of snow-clad hills and blue skies. I stopped and checked, hoping it had finally been cold enough. Yes, there was ice! Excitement mounting, I messaged a friend.
“There’s Ice! Can you swim NOW?”
I nipped home to grab a cozzie, woolly hat, neoprene gloves and shoes, hot drink and ALL the warm clothes. Picked up said friend on the way back through and headed for the water.
The ice was thin, breakable with a foot and a stick. The first sounds of the break, the crack, the creak as we broke through are something I’ll never forget. The cold was intense, burning and prickling our skin, numbness soon took over. We were like giddy children, the mild warmth of the winter’s sun helping to offset the chill.
We stayed well within our depth and waded out through the shifting ice. It wasn’t a swim day, it was a playing in ice day. We briefly dunked our shoulders and then ran back out to make snow angels on the shore. Gently drying our cold numb skin and dressing through giggles and whoops we left feeling elated.
All in all, from the first message to my friend to us being huddled up back at home took 40 minutes. Such a short outing had left us both elated, full of a sense of achievement and happiness that buoyed us for the rest of the day. The snuggling up at home all the sweeter.
Suzie Wheway is a year round wild swimmer and water access campaigner based in the Peak District. She runs guided wild swims and walks via Peak Swims