I have two fears in life. The main one is being tickled to death (don’t ask), the second is cold water! I want to overcome my fear of cold water and be able to swim in outdoor places. Having watched Freeze The Fear with Wim Hoff I was inspired. Talking about wanting to swim in rivers, Facebook nosy as ever and listening in, showed me an advert for water shoes! This was the push I needed to get started, so I purchased a pair of wet shoes for the water. I then had no excuses and really wanted to try out my new shoes. And so I begin my journey into cold water swimming….

My first experience was just testing out the water (no pun intended). I entered the river Tawe, which runs alongside my fields in Abercrave, and walked in up to my waist. That was far enough for day one.

The following day, I wanted to try again, this time, in the same section of the river, I went in up to my shoulders. I was unable to swim as there was no space here, but I achieved what I had wanted to do, and that was to submerge myself fully except for my head.

I now have the bug and desperately wanted to take the next step and actually swim. The following day I went to the Green Bridge (which is no longer there) in the River Twrch, just a few minutes walk from my home. Here, there is a large deep pool in the river. With my mother watching me on the bank, I made my way into the water. I walked in up to my waist, and then after a few deep breaths I took the plunge and I was swimming! For the first time in my adult life I was actually swimming in the river. It was pretty cold. I swam for all of 1 minute and 30 seconds and then got out. I had done what I wanted to achieve and that was long enough. Didn’t want to over do it on the first go!

Day 4 and I am back down the Green Bridge with my mother. My goal for today was to swim for 5 minutes. With encouraging words from the river bank, my mum timed me whilst I swam. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. I was terrified because I could not touch the bottom, and having not swam for about 6 years, and my lack of fitness, I was worried I might drown haha. Thankfully I did not drown and my five minutes were up. I got out feeling really refreshed. Even though the water felt quite cold I could have swam for longer.

For the fifth day in a row (I really do have the bug), I gave my mother a day off and went for a swim with a friend from up the road, Tracey. We went to the weir in Abercrave. Here there is a gorgeous deep pool with a small sort of waterfall flowing down into the pool. This was the first time being in the water with someone else and it made the experience a lot more enjoyable, and easier. We swam in the pool for about 20 minutes, it was amazing.

Two days later (yes i actually had a day off), myself and Tracey went to the weir again, with another friend of Tracey’s. It was the coldest the water had been all week but it felt so good. We had a great swim and a chat. We were in the water for about 30 minutes. Every time I have swam in the river I have done more than the time before. I now know I can do it when the weather is 20 degrees outside, but can I do it when the winter comes and the temperature drops? I have set myself a goal to swim in the sea on Boxing Day. This may or may not be this year!

A week of thunderstorms and heavy rainfall has meant the rivers have been flowing too fast to be able to swim in them. I really wanted to swim and there was just no where to go. Spring Valley Lakes in Resolven, which I had heard good things about, had been closed for the week also and I had really hoped to try it there. So today, the sun was shining, the lakes were back open and Tracey took me over to the lakes as I had no idea where they were. This was my first time swimming in a vast open space. I was feeling really nervous and apprehensive on the way there. In my mind I had visions of a deep, dark and murky lake that I’d be terrified in as I could not touch the bottom. However, when we arrived, i could see that the water in the lake was so clean and clear, it looked really inviting to get in. To my surprise, the water actually felt quite warm, a lot warmer to the rivers anyway. I swam for 15 minutes without touching the floor, something I wasn’t sure my fitness was capable of doing. I then swam for a further 30 minutes! This was by far my best swim, with the lake being a lot bigger than the river pools, it gave the opportunity to swim properly. I also for the first time, put my head under the water. On my journey to swim in cold water, I achieved a lot today; first lake swim, first head under water and longest swim so far.

Now, I am under no illusion that this is always going to be as easy as today. The weather was 22 degrees, the water was warm. The conditions were perfect. It felt amazing to swim in such an open space. Next goal is to swim in the sea for the first time but until then, I look forward to another swim tomorrow at the lake while the weather is still warm.

I know this kinda spoils the good work of swimming, but tonight I had a Chinese takeaway. At the end of my meal I ate the fortune cookie and the reason I am telling you this, is because my fortune was quite relevant. I will end this blog with this…. “Endurance and persistence will be rewarded“.

Time line of swims

• First dip up to waist 28/08/2022
• First dip up to shoulders 29/08/2022
• First swim 1 min 30 seconds 30/08/2022
• Second swim 5 minutes 31/08/2022
• Third swim 20ish minutes 01/09/2022
• Fourth Swim 30+ minutes 03/09/2022
• First swim in the lake, 45minutes 10/09/2022