It's starting to turn cold; in fact we had our first snow on the moors at the weekend. Not enough to build a snowman or go boarding, but it was certainly stunning and blooming cold when I hit the hills on my mountain bike... brrrrr
I've even had to get the heater on in the van in the evenings when I'm eating my dinner and watching Christmas movies (trying to get in to the spirit - check out my decs this year!). The nice thing is that I have two fluffy water bottles in the form of Oliver and Spike to keep me toasty under my down duvet at night. Although, when one of them peed in my bed the other day, I wasn't so grateful to have them in my life - Do you know how hard it is to dry a duvet and mattress in a cold metal box?!
Despite the weather, I've still been getting out and about on local adventures (in line with the dreaded Covid rules) and enjoying our stunning countryside, on foot and bike. The weather has certainly changed quickly this year and the water temps have dropped significantly; but that won't stop me embracing my inner mermaid and dragging along my chums on adventures.
Lately, I've enjoyed some stunning wild swimming spots... I knew about them but hadn't ever hopped on in before. One of my new favourite swim spots has to be Salmon Leaps near Castle Drogo; it's just so stunning. Recently Laura and I headed to Waters Meet near Grenofen for a dip, which was sooo cold (!), and I also had a wonderful swim at Bigbury-on-Sea (never been there - how amazing is that place; highly recommended for a day out to mooch around, swim, surf or SUP); plus of course a dip in the sea pool at Bude to test out my new suit. I tell you what, it's so much easier to swim in a cossie than a wet suit, so I'll stay in skins for as long as feasible. I did have to get out the bobble hat and swim gloves the other day though!
Finally, (this is just a quickie) my favourite thing about this time of year is the light... we may not have many hours of sunlight but it does lead to stunning sun sets, glorious late afternoon sunlight glowing through the trees and the most stunning array of colours in the landscape around us... so take a minute out of your day to appreciate the beauty around us during this festive period; it's not just about presents, sparkly lights and food; it's the season to stop, pause and feel grateful for what we have, and we couldn't be luckier living in such a stunning place.
Keep warm everyone and let me know what winter adventures you're up to :-)
Comments