Well Fit | Wild Swimming
During the cooped up circumstances we all found ourselves in, I was lucky enough to hide myself away in our bolthole on the Isle of Wight. Without the early call times, commutes and chaotic photography sets associated with my life as a makeup artist in London, I went in search of an activity to keep my mind and body in good shape. My spring wetsuit usually stays hanging in the wardrobe until sea temperatures have gone up a degree or two, however I decided to put my resilience to the test and take the plunge….
WORDS | CAMILLA HEWITT
PHOTOS | OLLIE COLEMAN
Having grown up spending summers swimming off the shores of the South coast, I’m aware that March is in fact the coldest month in terms of sea temperatures and that I must’ve been mad to even to consider it, but given the evidence that immersion in cold water reduces inflammation and improves our stress response system, I was willing to give it a go.
Although at first it was hard to catch my breath, the cold water triggered a flood of mood-boosting endorphins, keeping me in the water for longer than I expected. After a length of the bay, my face began to feel the freeze and I decided I had done a sufficient amount of swimming to reward myself with a warming cup of tea.
As temperates soared way above average over the Easter weekend, the sun warmed the sea and my daily dip became slightly more manageable. The immediate benefits of swimming felt even more welcome than usual, with the meditative breath-work taking my mind away from the worries of the ongoing pandemic. I always find the repetitive strokes relaxing, and this was certainly the case, but what I appreciated even more was the feeling of freedom the open water offered. Living in cities, with technology constantly at our fingertips, we have become so disconnected with nature and the power it has to heal our mind and soul. Time spent outdoors not only activates our senses, from the sound of birds singing in the trees to sweet smelling flora, it is also scientifically proven to reduce our heart rate, lower blood pressure and ease muscle tension, the latter is certainly something we will all be suffering from under current circumstances.
Hopefully the simpler way of life the lockdown encouraged us all to lead, will make us appreciate our natural resources more than ever, as an environment to exercise in, and just as a mental escape from time spent indoors and in front of screens.
Now I am back in London I am escaping to the island as often as possible to keep up my swimming practice. My technique could definitely do with some fine tuning but, like all sports, you don’t need to be the best to reap the mind & body boosting benefits.
Well Read | Books to inspire you to swim
Leap In: A Woman, Some Waves, and the Will to Swim
A spellbinding account of challenging our basic fears of the water and rediscovering an almost spiritual new realm. From her all-too-accurate struggle to get into her first wetsuit to a triumphant swim from Kefalonia to Ithaca, the author's enthusiasm and sense of discovery (both of place and her own internal journey) is resolutely infectious, inspiring even the most land-locked of readers to dip their toe into the water.
Waterlog: A Swimmer's Journey Through Britain
Roger Deakin set out in 1996 to swim through the British Isles. From the sea, rock pools, rivers and streams, tarns, lakes, lochs, ponds, lidos, swimming pools and spas, from fens, dykes, moats, aqueducts, waterfalls, flooded quarries, even canals, Deakin gains a fascinating perspective on modern Britain. Waterlog is a personal journey, a bold assertion of the native swimmer's right to roam, and an unforgettable celebration of the magic of water.
Swimming with Seals
This is a memoir of intense physical and personal experience, exploring how swimming with seals, gulls and orcas in the cold waters off Orkney provided Victoria Whitworth with an escape from a series of life crises and helped her to deal with intolerable loss. Over four years, her encounters with the sea and all its weathers, the friendships she made, the wild creatures she encountered, combined to transform her life. This book is a love letter, to the beach where she swims regularly and its microcosmic world.