Midwinter

Today is the shortest day, the winter solstice, the astronomical start of winter. The peak of the dark nights. The point at which I feel I can start looking towards lighter mornings and evenings. The joy of very early morning dips are still a few months away but now we’ve passed the shortest day I …

Winter is here

It’s grim here today. It’s been raining heavily on and off all day and it’s currently hailing. But over the weekend we had snow and cold and ice. Lots of ice! Early in the open water season my bestest swimming buddy and I agreed to carry on swimming through the winter. For lots of reasons. …

Sneaking out

I snuck out today. Not for a swim, even I draw the line when the air temperature’s below zero, but for a walk. When we first moved here all I wanted to do was head out for a walk in the hills on my own. Alas, I was heavily pregnant with a two year old …

Open Water Wheway

I’m Suzie, a pretty standard Mum to two boys, James and Ben, and wife to the ever patient and encouraging Paul. We live on the North West edge of the Peak District. I have a very normal life, doing all the day to day boring stuff everyone else has to do. I have ups and …

A New Direction

Careers are funny things. Back in my parents day you qualified to do something and often stayed at the same company from apprenticeship to retirement. Now, certainly within my peer group, a lot of people go off to university and hopefully find a job within the sector that they’ve studied. People move companies a lot …

Night swimming and a spot of fundraising

It’s been an odd few weeks since the Hurly Burly. The event was promoted as an end of season jaunt, a last hoorah for a great summer of swimming. An event at the beginning of October, as the summer ends and the autumn finally gets into full swing, was always going to be part of …

The Hurly Burly’s done

Wet, wild, adventurous, exhilarating, amazing, beautiful, friendly. Just a few of the many words I’ve been using to describe the pioneer Hurly Burly on Saturday but, frankly, the list is endless. Despite all of my doubts and worries it goes down as one of the best days of my life! I’m not sure I can …

In preparation for the Hurly Burly…….continued

I wasn't planning on another post before the big swim on Saturday but I felt the need to share. I was a little too calm when I wrote my post on Tuesday night. I don't think it had sunk in that I was actually doing such a big swim for me in four days time. …

In preparation for The Hurly Burly

Hi, I’m Suzie and I have a problem! An addiction, an obsession, a passion! I am wholly in love with swimming outside. In the fresh air, in water bodies that I can never see the bottom of. When it’s sunny, rainy, windy, hailing, foggy, cold, warm. It doesn’t matter, I just want to do it. …