Wild Swimming // Royal College of Nursing

I am a recently converted cold water enthusiast, albeit more of the sitting in an ice filled agricultural water butt in my bathroom type of enthusiast. We're a bit landlocked here in Wiltshire. I met Olivia at the Clevedon Marine Lake not long after sunrise on a bitingly cold April morning. The water temperature, having had little chance to warm since winter, was still in single figures. Unperturbed, Olivia strode out into the glacial waters, no squeaking or squealing heard, just a calm confidence. Olivia took to cold water immersion in the depth of the pandemic to help her cope with the severe anxiety brought on by the stress of working on a stroke dependency ward during the height of Covid. Exposing yourself to very cold water has an extraordinary effect on well being. I'm not sure the research is there yet to understand the physiological responses fully, but I can attest that there is some sort of magical reaction going on. The effect on sleep alone is particularly notable, I never sleep better than when I've had a cold dunk. The rush of endorphins is intoxicating and it is curiously addictive.