The sea

The last three days have been some of the best for swimming for a long time. The tide is low at our chosen time of 7.45 and the sands are smooth and clear of all but our footprints as we make our way to the water's edge. The disadvantage is that we then have to wade about 20 yards before we can consider actually swimming, but as it has been so calm it's been a gentle baptism.

The water sits at about 8 degrees at the moment, presumably helped by the calmness; the cold stuff doesn't seem to get stirred up and it certainly helps that it's not hitting me in the face. The sunny mornings do lull you into a false sense of warmth though, and whilst my mind could have carried on swimming for at least 15 more minutes, my body still begins to shut down. Brave Charlotte joined us this morning and not having swum since November she found the water bracing, but soon relaxed into it. We agreed that when your skin starts to tell you to get out it just as if you are being beaten by handfuls of nettles.