Vobster Quay Diving Centre
On the way down to do the Dart 10k open water swim, we stopped off to visit my parents...well why travel all that way and not take advantage of the opportunity to see mum and dad!!! So after an uneventful journey down on the wednesday we had already made up our minds to try to get some sort of swim in while we were there.
The obvious choice is to nip down to the Farnleigh and District swimming club which started in 1933 and is thought to be the oldest river swimming club in the world, its only about 20 minutes from where my parents live. But the club run by Rob Fryer adheres to strict guidelines as well as common sense as when there are cows in the adjoining field i quote 'they have been known to chase swimmers into the water' not that is itself is not an issue...but what if they chose not to let us get out of the river!!!! So not wanting to chance cow induced hypothermia we decided that we would head over to Vobster Quay for a swim, a spot recommended to us by Vivien Hollis. Who was going to hopefully join us but unfortunately work interfered with fun for her and she was unable to make it...next time Viv.
Arriving at the Quay we found it strangely quiet...it can cater for 300 cars but no sight of that of human sound. A couple of solitary divers who had finished their dive and were packing away for the day...and us. Entering the shop to enquire as to chance of a swim we were met with the surprised face of a young staff member, but yes we could swim!!! Fab news, having duly crossed his palm with silver we headed off to the changing rooms, well i say changing rooms, they are a fantastically large set of buildings with more than enough room to swing a cat in.....don't panic people i have and never will swing a cat...its a saying for those of you that don't know and are currently dialling the number of the local animal protection people!!! Simply put its an enormous heated changing area with gloriously hot showers!
Quickly getting changed into our wetsuits, the sudden dilemma ..where to get in, were there rules about such things at this quay, quick inquiries in the shop and we were told...get in anywhere! I am sure the young man behind the counter thought we were nuts that we had come to socially swim and train...during the day on a week day, i would have explained but wanted to get in the water more than satisfy his curiosity.
Now Vobster is 36 acres of water, which compared to our normal watering hole of 64 may appear on paper small, however it is beautifully laid out with a 750m loop of buoys for us swimmers, a thoughtful touch! Plenty of entry points and the only bit that sent a slight shiver down my spine was that the local Bristol zoo used it as a breeding ground for fish for the zoo. Given the strange and wonderful creatures that a zoo can house the imagination not to mention the stomach did a few flips before the head pushed asides thoughts of fresh water sharks and the like!
As promised by Viv the water was gloriously warm 17 degrees, fantastic compared to the water 'up north' which had chilled considerably with some parts being a low as 12 already. With no cold to tighten the muscles it was time to start doing the loops, the first we took slow and steady trying to see 'things' under the water. The water is not as clear as capenwray dive centre but is a brilliant blue colour before giving way to shade of green.
The first lap came to an end all too quickly, a brief respite to take in the surroundings and enjoy the utter solitude of what at the time felt like our own personal swim spot, birds chirping their disapproval of our disturbing their environment the only sound! The second lap started easy then with the muscles suitably warmed up time to put on some bursts of speed and test the thigh cramp that i had suffered only 4 days before and which was still plaguing me. It was amazing to be able to go flat out and just enjoy that feeling of the lakes length disappearing under the storm of your strokes! Coming to a finish at the end of the quay and turning round to see the only ripples were caused by the fury of the stoke, amazing.
Time to have a little play and see if we could see anything at all under the water, the clarity for the first few metres is brilliant and we managed to get a couple of great pictures under the water of ourselves...please note the stoke of my partner....duly told off for it when i saw the picture!!!!
Swimming round relatively slowly in the hope of spotting one of the many attractions that bring divers flocking to the quay, we came across the most amazing sight a mass of tiny ( and some not so tiny) fish, they were not bothered at all by us and included us in their rituals, swimming over us, under us and around us, and incredible sight i can tell you. Although it was in the back of my head....the zoo....what was in the water that might want to feast on these little beauties!
Leaving the ball of fish and looking for things to take pictures of I came across tons of opportunities, and here are some that caught my eye.
Do i like Vobster....the answer VERY MUCH, the benefits i have extolled above the negatives, at £5 a swim if i was in the local area and able to take advantage of the discounts would be too much to allow me swim as much as i do, however this cost is off set by the use of the wonderful changing rooms and undercover shelters where spectators can view proceeding and hide from the weather. One major factor for me would be the closing time 5pm on weekdays and 5.30 on weekends, what an absolute shame to miss out on sunset swims, swimming in the warmth of the evenings sun after a hard day at work.....maybe we can convince them to open up for us one Saturday evening if i organised a mass social swim in the area, but truly how many of us would take advantage of the waters if it opened later in the day....yes all of us comes the cry!
You were right Viv, i loved it and will return....hopefully to swim with you!!!
Video of the fish near the surface can be found on you tube :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxnB-8xV2UQ&feature=relmfu all you have to think is if those are the little miracles on the surface what awaits our viewing down below, bet its brilliant!
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