My first ever wild swim!

After persuasion from Catherine I decided to try out my first wild swim. This was during my Lands End to John o Groats cycle touring trip,  it would either go two ways; one recover the legs or two, further increase my level of fatigued body 

But the setting of the swim was stunning and irresistible even for a novice swimmer like myself, it was right next to the Red Squirrel campsite in Glencoe. It was a naturally formed pool  at the bottom of jaw dropping rugged mountains with a fairly calm river running throughout. 

I was fairly nervous which is unlike me for any physical activity but, I hadn’t swam properly for a good year and I always used to moan about the temperature of an indoor pool and this was far colder. To make the matter worse my shoulder was still recovering from a bike accident a few weeks before however I struggle to say no to any outdoor adventure so it was another outdoor activity that i had ticked off on my imaginary list.

Catherine jumped straight in the water and said it was the best way to  adjust and brave the shock of the water. I trusted  her expertise due to she previously competed in open water swimming and I think it was the right decision as I was right in the deep end(literally) and had to make every attempt to try and get warm. 

I followed straight after, moved my arms as quick as I could in a front crawl like motion and attempted to slow my shocked, heavy breathing down. I certainly felt the cold, but leaving my cycling clothing on was a helpful move to slightly insulating me. 

It wasn’t a proper swim of numerous lengths or up and downs of the river but a few bits of front crawl and breast stoke motion was enough for myself to clarify it as my first wild swim!

I will defintley have a go at another wild swim, as it was an enjoyable experience with fantastic views in the background that took my mid off the cold temperature. The feeling of slimy rocks and not know ing what was  underfoot was an interesting experience but at least the water was relatively clear to put my mind at slight ease. I definitely had a sense of felling alive when my body and teeth uncontrollably shivered and chattered. But it was a great laugh with 2 fantastic friends!

High shutter speed on the FujiXT10

Catherine and Sam even decided to have an evening swim but one dip in the water was just enough for me, but at least it allowed me to experiment with a few swimming/water shots with the camera.