I’ll admit I'm not usually a morning person. Enough time for a shower, breakfast (two bowls of coco pops ☺️) and I’m ready to start treatments. If I swim in the morning, I’ll drag myself out of bed, grab breakfast still (can’t kick the day off without coco pops) and drive straight down to the beach, I have no time to realise how cold it is outside.

I’m a self-employed beautician working from a treatment room in my home so getting out for a swim in the mornings is a great way to get out of the house and start my day off on a positive note. I'm happier and I can work harder when I’m looking after myself.

I have been swimming for two years now. My family got me into it, I thought they were mad to begin with… like everyone does. They got me in on Boxing Day at Cawsands in 2018 and I thought it was FREEZING and I was even wearing a wetsuit at this point. I couldn’t even imagine swimming through the winter in just a swimsuit. Every trip home to Wales, I’d be persuaded to join in with the family swim and loved it but it wasn’t until 2020 when my husband and I decided to dig out the wetsuits for a January swim in Plymouth… and just like that I was hooked. I joined the Blue Tits in Plymouth to get to know some other swimmers and never looked back. Swimming really helped me feel at home in the Southwest as I started meeting people through something I loved.

Without swimming now, I would feel lost. When I am having a bad day/week the sea is what saves me. I forget all my worries and I can breathe. Dunking your head is the best part, it’s like I wash away my worries and start again. Laughing with friends and ‘dicking around’ is what gets me in, the sea does the rest.

Last October we visited Canada, to see family, on a trip that had been postponed for 3 years. Lake Louise, water temp 5 degrees, me and my cossie…the ultimate feeling of freedom. I was so happy to finally be on holiday after months of lockdowns and restrictions and now I was swimming in this gorgeous turquoise lake that I had always dreamt of. I’ve never felt as much joy in the water ever. Next, I’d like to visit Thailand. Those green and blue waters just look so inviting.

 Beth x