I know I said this isn’t a travel blog but I am going to share this one photo, because after I came back from my holiday in Crete I had dinner with a friend and said I had been in the sea (which was at about 16-17 degC, my uncles being local found it cold and a bit too early in the season for a dip, but I was elated).
WELL. She countered with, “I go in the sea in Penarth!” and I nearly fell off my seat. (At this point in the year the water is at about 12 degC). There is a well-known group of sea swimmers in Penarth called the Dawn Stalkers, but that is not who my friend goes with. Dawn is way too early anyway especially in the summer, and depending on the tides sometimes the sea is reallllllllly far away at that time. So my friend and a few other mums whose kids all go to school together arrange to go at high tide at some point every weekend. Counter to all my autistic vampire tendencies (i.e. I usually have to wait to be explicitly invited, to be sure that I am not imposing myself on hapless people too polite to say no), I ASKED whether I could come along and whether the others would mind. I KNOW! It turned out they were delighted and are always happy to introduce the joy of sea dipping to new people. (But not in a culty sort of way.)
So I went and it was fantastic and I was immediately hooked. We follow the guidelines and stay in the water 1 minute per degree of sea temperature (which you can find out on the tide times and weather websites). The first 2 minutes are the hardest and then it’s a total joy.
I do say sea dipping rather than sea swimming, because there’s a lot of bobbing about and chatting, until the time is up, which is not that long at all. I am a poor swimmer and very unconfident, so I started off making sure I have my toes touching the seabed at all times, although week by week I’m starting to be a bit braver and even occasionally attempt the odd swimming stroke.
In Welsh class I explained that I had been in the sea (“yn y môr”), and the teacher asked, “Nofio? Swimming?”. I shook my head and said, “no, just bobbing really”, and she laughed and said “Bobbio!” which delighted me no end.
I wish I’d taken a picture the very first time I went, as it was early morning, the air was warm and the sea very still, and I couldn’t have asked for a better day – but I’d already locked my phone in the car so instead here’s the second time I went, early afternoon the following weekend. I was using up the film on a small camera I’d taken to Crete on holiday, and I love the quality of the resulting pictures.
The sea at Penarth