The water temperature appears to have dropped... I've been swimming all winter and the river these past weeks has felt so much colder than the past few months. What's going on?! In fact, this time last year the water was balmy, the sun was shining and I was literally jumping in at every opportunity (evidence below!). Where has Spring gone; surely this is the coldest and wettest May on record?!
However, as you know, it takes more than cold water and a drop of rain to stop me getting in, and the benefit of it being so chilly, is that all the popular swim spots are still super quiet. I've even been able to enjoy the sheer pleasure of splashing around in my birthday suit... shhhh don't tell anyone though... and experiencing the joy of being at one with the environment (bar the barking spaniels - they don't appreciate the quietness as much clearly!).
Recent swim spots have included the usual favourites of Cullever Steps, Black Rock, Bude Sea Pool, Crazy Well Pool and Week Ford, and they've been stunning as usual. I've even been introducing more crazy ladies to the joy of wild swimming... of course they enjoyed it!!
I love that more and more people are getting to experience this fantastic past time and reap the benefits that cold water swimming provides.
However, yesterday I was having a rest day and caught an old Robson Green wild swimming show on Amazon... I have a secret Robson Green crush, but again, don't tell anyone... he visited a beautiful pool in Cornwall, and now I have a bit of a desire to search out the amazing tidal pools that are dotted around our stunning coastline and explore some new places to have a dip.
This got me thinking; how many pools are there? Where are they? Are they accessible? Could I spend the next year mooching around the UK in search of them? Would it be a fun adventure? Would it be remotely achievable?
After some Google surfing; I've found 16 known tidal pools in Cornwall alone, and I expect there are more if I do a little exploring... So maybe a UK wide tidal pool adventure may be a bit too much of a stretch as a first expedition, but the South West, well that's my home turf, and everyone should explore their local area more.
Devon appears to be lacking in tidal pools - plenty of Lidos - which surprises me; so I'm thinking they're just not talked about or ventured to, or maybe they aren't overly accessible. Seems like a great quest to find out... From my research I've only found 2 actual tidal pools in Devon; surely there are more than that? I can't believe us Devonians are too posh to swim in rough dug out pools or natural bodies of water; Lidos are stunning but really not my idea of fun!
So this winter, after my return from 'uuup north', I'll be mainly found rummaging our southern shores for stunning tidal pools; they have to be warmer than Dartmoor rivers after all!
Please do share your tidal pools in the South West with me; thank you :-)
If you'd like to check out the recent videos of Laura, George and me on our mini adventures; please check out their YouTube channels and links below...
Wild Swimming at Sunset and Sunrise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cConfdUe69E
Hiking and wild swimming on Dartmoor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nejgiynMKTs
Tipsy and giggly Dartmoor wild camping and swimming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9wG-aIDG48
As always; thank you for reading... stay safe and keep adventuring
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