Swimming round up 2012

Despite being 100% rubbish at it another one of my passions is swimming outdoors. I don't take part in distance swims, or organised swims, I just like to get in the water when I can and enjoy the surrounding, how awake it makes me feel and the buzzing feeling afterwards. You get a different perspective on things when you are in the water and there is nothing better for muscle ache than having a swim.

Swimming started off (or tried to start off in March) in the Arans. The lake is at 500 metres and there had been snow the week before. I tried my hardest to have a swim but managed nothing more than a brief submersion. I want to return to this area next spring and have some proper swims



In April we went to the Lake District. It snowed and there was still snow on the ground when we did the Fairfield Horseshoe. I managed to not do my camel back up properly and lost nearly all the water in the boot of the car, ended up having to melt snow in a bottle to drink as there was no water on the tops! I ran out an hour or two from the end so seeing the river at the bottom felt like a mirage descending the steep slope. The water looked so beautiful and blue Steve and I goaded each other into swimming. It was freezing but we did manage a dip.



We did a walk in May taking in Chartist cave and to look at some of the pools up there. We found one deep enough for swimming. Getting in and out of it was a bit comedy though due to the steeply sloping mud banks

Here I am looking a bit cold



A Dartmoor camp in June saw a few more chilly immersions!





A few swims were had at Farleigh and Warleigh water levels quite high



A few swims also had in Clevedon Marine Lake



And a swim at Sgwd y Eira post caving, it was raining and cold!



A wild camp in the Arenigs saw two swims one in each lake. The swim in the lake below Llyn Arenig Fach was lovely, I could have stayed in there all day but my tea cooking on the stove got me out in the end!

This is at Llyn Arenig Fawr, first thing in the morning very chilly!


A summer holiday to the Rhinog mountains saw some glorious swimming, mainly sea based. Lovely sandy beaches. We even saw dolphins! We also spent the day at Nantcol waterfalls which was awesome

It was so hot on our last day coming down Rhinog to this lake and getting straight in was fantastic. It was an epic long day of some very rough terrain, had to stop though for a swim



Swimming at sunset







For our second week in N Wales the weather for rubbish so not really much swimming. Had a dip in one of the little streams near the holiday cottage. Even Emma went in after much goading!



Despite paranoia about bad water quality it looked very clear so we went in at Llandudno (I didn't get ill)



Finally managed to have a swim in Llyn Idwal which I'd been wanting to do for ages -it was a bit choppy!



We did a walk in the Brecon Beacons were we managed to get in a lake swim and a number of dips in the river. I gave up putting my walking gear back on and just walked in my swim stuff which probably caused some amusement when we passed the DOE group





We had a weekend camping in the Brecon Beacons managed to cram in a couple of post walk swims

This Blaen Y Glyn





This is near Water Break it's Neck waterfall. We couldn't fnid any pools deep enough for a swim so had a shower



I went on a scrambling weekend in October and couldn't help but get in Llyn Idwal again, it was a little cold! Too cold for photos.

Another swim was had in October which was my last swim of the year :(