I've not had to break any ice to date, but the fast flowing river running in to the pool at Cullever Steps did have ice on it this past weekend; which was definitely a new level of cold!
It was early Saturday morning and George and I decided it would be a great idea to go for a swim... I mean it's us after all and we don't like to do sensible things after all!
We hopped in to the van for the short drive up the lane on to the moors. As we were driving along the wind rocked the van side to side and we started to wonder whether this may be our worst idea to date. But hey we were there now, so let's mooch on down to the pool to assess the situation.
The doors caught in the wind and we held on tight hoping we'd not get blown away on the walk to the pool. It was a tad breezy (!) and I was already struggling to feel my nose and I wasn't yet in the water; the air was icy and even the boggy ground was frozen. As we approached the river we could see icicles hanging from the shrubs which hug the river bank and yes, on closer inspection, we found large lumps of ice in the water and covering the normally mossy rocks scattered around the fast flowing river.
Despite the outside temperature hanging around -8, and the presence of the ice, we decided to embrace the chilly weather and climb on in to the deep pool of water. Woolly hats (safety first), gloves and water shoes were donned...
I clamber in to the pool over the large rocks and stand for a few seconds, practicing my trademark deep breathing and prayer position, before submerging in to the water and swimming quickly up and down the pool, trying not to get my hat wet... Gasps escape from our mouths, followed by giggles of sheer joy, and as I look up to the sky I see snow starting to fall.
The tingling begins to build around my body and it feels like a really immersive winter experience and I can't help but smile at this feeling of being at one with nature. But it's blooming freezing so we decide it's time to jump out before we lose our fingers!
After our super short 3 minute swim, I pull myself out of the water to all the dogs standing on the bank barking at me - they're not stupid enough to come in today - the tingling enhances and I wrap myself up in my towel and jump up and down to get the feeling back in to my extremities... This turned out to be my shortest swim to date, and it was even too cold to sit and enjoy the mandatory cake and coffee afterwards; so a fast paced stroll back to the van, for coffee and medals, got the blood flowing and helped us to warm up after the icy water.
What an amazing experience and definitely one to embrace again during the next snowy day.
Please do check out our video (just click on the photo below) of our mini local adventure and feel free to subscribe to 2born2travel for more crazy adventures from George and guests (I feature often as I just can't say no!)
Until the next time; keep safe and remember that adventure is still out there...
Opmerkingen