Monday 7 November 2011

Ullswater in November

Having swam The 7 mile BLDSA Ullswater event on 30 July this year in near perfect sunny warm conditions I thought it would be a good idea to re visit once the water temperatures had started to drop..with that in mind I invited a few swimmy mates to a planned swim, to take place Sunday 6 November, the plan was a civilised start time of 12 noon and as much or as little effort as each individual wished for.

Despite lots of initial interest we ended up with just four swimmers in attendance, Amanda Bell and Jo Charlton for the girls and Dave Neal and I for the boys, creeping into the inky water just beyond the Ferry at Glenridding we swam around the first Island and up the lake for a few minutes, the sun was shining and the lake was glass like in appearance, it was somewhat cooler than the sea  but not nearly as cool as we had anticipated, 55 minutes later we returned to shore refreshed and buzzing from a pleasant swim with amazing scenery.

After much hot chocolate and cake, Jo (and her Bear Grylls boyfriend Rich) Dave (and his gaffer Sarah) left us and headed home. Amanda and I warmed up a little more before we took the plunge for a second dip, it was really tough to leave the warm clothes behind and to creep into back into the lake, much to the consternation of onlookers who openly questioned our sanity.. 35 minutes later we were back again, fully revitalised and glowing like red lobsters..

It was funny to see and feel the familiar lack of coordination and shakes return, it seems like a long time since we were experiencing these post swim symptoms of cold water back in April...overall a great day with great company..we must do it again soon. Water 51f 10.5c 90 minutes total.

1 comment:

Amanda Bell said...

It was a great day and yet again showed my superb navigational skills.....wrong side of island?? Really!? Thanks for organising and yes we must do it again!