Here comes Summer

The clocks go forward to British Summer Time in just a few day. The sun is bright and high at 8am when I reach the lido.

But there is ice on the water still after another freezing cold clear night.

There's a channel clear on the parkside almost to the deep end, Anthony clears the last bit as I swim my two lengths. A week out of the water but 1ºC doesn't feel too bad.

I notice this chipped door on the way out. It looks as if it's been green, yellow and red over the years.

Leap

 Slightly milder, slightly warmer. A damp March morning.

 Tired, I did two lengths with Richard at a fair pace before two more even slower on my own.

 The Sauna was full with lots of chatting going on.

 Batch had a McDonald's last night and Vice has been to a Harvester!

 Inez watched the queue of 'happy families' outside her local Harvester on Mother's day.

 Batch likes 'Last of the Summer Wine' but Elizabeth was fond of ''Allo 'Allo'.

After the sauna Elizabeth jumped back into the water.

Sun and ice

A bright sunny morning with a hard frost. I was surprised to find ice across the middle of the lido, would I be able to swim lengths today?
Sarah broke the thin ice up and scooped it out in the net, 'Keep to the near edge and you should be alright' she told me.
I did as I was told but about three quarters of the way up I hit ice. I heard a cheer as I swam on through it. A strange sensation as your frozen arm breaks the surface, I could feel the ice snap against the top of my swimming hat. Under the surface I could hear the ice sheet move and splinter. It was only for about four strokes after that the channel was clear.

Elizabeth stuck to widths and I caught this picture of her on the return leg, the water is still cloudy but the sunlight made the visabilty good. The water is about 1.5ºC today.

Unisex

The sun was out and the wind had dropped but it was still freezing cold. Managed a four length swim, the water is rather cloudy but it was nice to see the light play on the bottom of the pool.

The womens shower is closed so the mens is now unisex. Fewer swimmers today, we talked about helicoptors in the sauna. Water still around 2ºC.

Radio star

Another day, another dive. Elizabeth was interviewed on HeartFM this morning about her cold water swimming. With the current freezing weather they wanted to speak to someone who swam every day.

 Interviewed on phone by Baby Spice 'live' at the lido she dived in afterwards (this was a later dive).

The wind was still exceptionally cold but it had stopped ice forming on the main pool. I did a two length dash with Richard before carrying on for two more.

The sauna was crowded once again! I don't believe the water temperature will have gone up from yesterdays 2ºC.

Mad March

With a flip flop on each hand and wild shreik in the air Sue leaps back into the lido for a post sauna splash. The wind was bitter with stingingly icy snow, at least in the water you were protected from the worst of it. Elizabeth and Vince cheered me on after I turned for length three. I didn't hear them, I was too busy thinking had I'd pushed it too far? Although the water didn't feel too bad my hands froze in the icy air. Four lengths then I headed for the ever popular warmth and comfort of the sauna.

David has the thermometer string around his foot, just by looking at him you can tell it's cold. Back down to 2ºC was the verdict.

Four

Damp and misty, four small piles of leaves sat along the pool edge. Steven had fished them out of the water and left them in evenly spaced gaps, a curious artwork of well rotted leaves..

Richard had arrived around the same time as me, we decided to swim together. He's gearing up for the channel this summer and has been swimming most morning of late.

We have quite a good pace match and pushed each other over a four length swim.

Bouyed up by the quick four I felt I could go further, the water was just a little warmer so I carried on for another two. Six lengths in total.

David made the water temperature just under 4ºC. Glad I made the most of it because it looks like the temperature will fall this week end.

Dive in

Sorry for the break in the blog, it's just been too cold for anything new. The water is beginning to warm a little, I think it's around 3ºC.

This is Elizabeth diving in post sauna. I took this with the high speed burst function on my camera. The quality isn't too good but it captures the motion. I love the reflection on the water.

I did a four length swim this morning which I've done all week. It gets easier each day, perhaps six will be possible on Friday?

 The longer term forecast shows cold weather coming back.

It's been good to swim through the winter but I want to start putting on some distance soon.