GLACIAL TARNS

GLACIAL TARNS

In search of other glacial tarns to swim in, we looked into it and found Bowescales in Mungrisdale in the Lake District. Another amazing location, the walk to it not as steep as that to Scales Tarn, but this one I had been reliably informed would be warmer! Joined on this walk by Michael Harrison and Julie Mackenzie, we met up in the car park of the Mill Inn. The sun starting to make great inroads into making itself known. After a quick but of banter we set off. The pace slower, the chatter flowing, the sun shining, its great to swim with friends and in such wonderful weather.

Julie makes it to the tarn

Again the layers of clothing came off as the gradient increased, accompanied to Michaels witty remarks! The scenery rather than steep and raggy looking had lost is harshness and the hillsides around us rolled around as if giving permission to walk its mossy surfaces. Soon the gentle roll of the hills gave way to steeper climbs and the legs started to feel the need to stretch out.

 My trusted Sherpa (aka Geoff) kindly and knowingly offered to take my rucksack....not one to refuse such a request, I handed it over and set off up the hill. The footing underneath no so steady today but I managed to get a nice stretch out, the thighs still not recovered from the walk/run/swim two days prior at Scales Tarn but they soon loosened off and set to work for me.

Higher I went, then round the corner the tarn appreared. Slightly larger than Scales Tarn but no less wonderful. But what do I spy.....other people!!! Some, a small group, looked like they were settling down to a picnic....damn, were we really going to have to share this venue...oh well so be it. I wonder what they would make of us 'wild swimmers'.

The sun making itself known as we got change, Julie bravely going sans wetsuit. Quickly enough we were ready to get in, and as seems to be the way with these tarns there are several metres of sharp stones to make us look like a cross between a ballerina and the worst kind of drunk as we teeter towards the deepest bit of water we can find, not even 12 inches in some cases, so that we could lie flat and cruise to deeper areas.

The water, in theory, and according to my source of information, should have been warmer than Scales Tarn but nope....colder, the ice cream headache came back with a smack that took the breath away. We soon got used to it though and through a mixture of swimming, floating and diving under were soon like big kids. One of the beauties of open water swimming its abilty to allow one and all adults and children to have fun, its not all about racing (although that is fun too), but the freedom to do as we wish was granted and we took advantage of it. The water was not as clear as the previous tarn but this could have been down to the sheer volume of rock and boulders that were simply everywhere, its a deep tarn as well, not permitting us a glimpse of the depths.

 The water was still wonderfully clear, and although chilly (around 10 degrees) it was still amazing to be surrounded by the best that mother nature can offer. It really is a unique experience to be swimming in glacial waters surrounded by mountains and being warmed by the occasional flash of the suns warmth, NO swimming pool could even hope to offer the same experience. Julie experienced the true experience of total silence in an amazing setting, until you have been in such setting, where the mountain rise literally from the water, allow you to play in them for a bit, but when you merge from there blue and silky depths the kiss of the sun there is nothing to equal it. The sheer silence is deafening, the surroundings nothing that man kind could hope to equal. However if we called out to each other our voices were accompanied by an acho or two....had the picnicing group not been there i am sure we would have made full use of its attractions. Its nature at its best and to know that you have swam in glacial waters in a location where the ice age passed through is heart warming, it still here and allowing us to partake, its a privalige i am glad to be a part of.

THE 'SCALE' OF NATURE

THE 'SCALE' OF NATURE

A bit of a walk he said, then a swim....did I hear the magic words, walk then swim....I was in!!!! So after a spot of breakfast then the drive to the Lake District, we arrived on the A66....hum....this is not quite what I had in mind. Parking up, rucksacks and wetsuits out of the car, and having looked around I tentatively asked.....where’s the water? It’s a bit like a carrot and stick syndrome for me, if there’s a swim involved you can pretty much get me to do anything (please don't test me on this one......ok go on then do!!!) But looking round I could not see a jot of water....was I being conned here! Apparently not, I was informed that there was a 'bit of a hill' to go up and then it would be there sparkling and shimmering in front of me!

Bit of a hill.....never again will I be taken in with those words...bit of a hill....those words amongst others got muttered all the way up....you see I love hills and I love going up them, but I do not like doing it while carrying anything other than my camera, to do so with anything else is a pain up the backside to say the least. So carrying a rucksack with clothing for every eventuality from heat wave to snow blizzard, after all we were in the Lake District, and a wetsuit, was not my idea of fun. Shedding layers faster than a moulting cat, I continued onwards and upwards. This hill, I rapidly determined was not a hill....in fact by what I THOUGHT was half way up....I was cursing said hill, which only has several varieties of level of gradient.....steep, very steep and oh my god how steep! Getting seriously fed up of carrying the rucksack and wetsuit, it hinders my normal mountain goat approach to such hikes; I devised a cunning plan, at a map check stop I asked if my wetsuit could be carried for me, of course the reply came, one down one to go! Now a hill to me is something where you can see the top.....this ‘hill’ appeared not to have a top....it just carried on going up, I was starting to feel the need for Nepalese Sherpa’s and oxygen.

Stage two of ridding myself of cumbersome hindrances....could you hold my rucksack for me please. Yes of course came the reply, yippee....free of all burdens I rapidly turned my back and finally was able to stretch my legs and started running. Now when I say running please do not think there was any speed in the run.....this ‘hill’ did not conform to allow any kind of speed, but I was finally able to move faster than a snail’s pace and quickly put some distance between myself and the two legged pack horse that was now complaining about ‘the hill’. Stopping regularly to check I was on the right track and getting likened to a Labrador and Spaniel in my ability to run off then spin round to check on the ‘walkers’ progress did not dampen my enthusiasm, then finally at the point where we were nearly at the top a quick breath stop and a 360 degree turn and there it was revealing itself ....the water! Scales Tarn lay before me, breath takingly stunning.

Breath taking as the ‘hill’ was, the water and its setting was more so. A tarn so blue and sparkling surrounded in the protective caress of the mountains around it, great swathe of scree sloping downwards like fingers on a hand, the refection of the mountain in the water. Even if you were not a swimmer you could not have failed to have seen the beauty in it. It made me stop my ascent and just stand panting in awe, oh and the exertion of running vertically.

Calling down to the two legged pack horse (named Geoff) that I could see water, I was asked to come and get either the wetsuit or rucksack....surprisingly at that point my selective deafness kicked in and off I bounded descending towards the water.

And then it happened, I spied other humans....at the water’s edge....what!!!! Are you telling me I had walked / ran all that way ....and there were others there...not a hope of me sharing that patch of oasis with anyone today! The water looked too precious to share....regardless I carried on bounding down the soft spongy moss aiding my rapid descent. Thoughts of me losing my footing and ending up on Helicopter rescues (a TV series covering the emergency services) fleeted through my head. A shout from above halted me...my Sherpa had now grown weary of carrying my kit so I ran back up grabbed it and carried on my run down the ‘hill’, half way down I was relieved to see the people that had been testing the water moving on.

And all of a sudden, I was there, at the water’s edge, it truly is breath taking. The slate from the mountains have aided the water to an incredible blue coloured water, it’s clear from the water’s edge and as I would find out right to the bottom of the tarn. The sun started to make an appearance perfected the image in front of me with a mirrored reflection on the water’s surface of the surroundings around me.

How do you sum up the spectacle of nature that has been formed without the aid of mankind’s lack of imagination, for no man could have produced such a perfect feature in such a rugged landscape, nor could he have dreamt up such a walk to get to it! It simply was one of nature’s secrets and now it was revealed to us. Those of you that have struggled to put on a wetsuit whilst hot and perspiring will understand the frustration of felt with the sheer difficulty of persuading a wetsuit that it wants to cover my body. But eventually I managed to get the neoprene on and I was ready.

By why did I hesitate, I will tell you, this water is perfect, its blue, pan flat, not  a ripple, its invitation to swim is seductive, I simply wanted to savour the moment of anticipation, I had not even dipped a finger to test the temperature. I trusted this water; I was ready for its embrace and would welcome its caress as it entered my wetsuit to cool me down. I wanted to be seduced by the scene in front of me, the perfect blue of the water, not a whisper of sound, the sun peaking through, it was a moment to be savoured, there was no race to be won, I would be the first one in, Geoff behind me wrestling with his wetsuit. I loved the anticipation of what lay before me.

Stepping in was magical, the heat disappearing from my overly hot feet from running was amazing. Each step the muscles of my calves were thanking me for the instant cold water therapy they were receiving...but then the inevitable happened. As most of you will know, us open water swimmers will pee in our wetsuits to warm ourselves up....but I was not in deep enough to do this, plus I thought that the moisture I had expelled during the run meant there would be nothing spare...added to that up until ‘that’ moment I had not felt the urge once!!! Was this the neoprene or the water causing this reaction...never thought about it until that moment. Geoff was entering the water, giving the same satisfied noises I had made earlier. 

Going deeper and deeper into the water I became aware of voice....hell no, please tell me no one was going to join us, peering round I could not see anyone at ground level, the voices were coming from above, 4 climbs on the ascent of Sharp Edge (aptly named from where I was stood) were stood watching us! Ha....bet they were amazed!

Eventually the water hit a height where peeing was permitted, bliss!!!! Heat spreading through the wetsuit, I plunged in. The sight before me will be forever imprinted in my head, crystal clear water, deep, amazingly blue, the view below spectacular to say the least. I surfaced grinning; this is what wild swimming is all about. Swimming to the centre of the tarn, eyes glued to the sight below me, lungs literally screaming at me, I could not help but wish I had brought a snorkel, it was clear, clean, all around me an uninterrupted view of the bottom of the tarn. Not a weed or fish in sight, just uninterrupted view!

Swimming round and round, going from edge to edge marvelling at the sight below, I literally did not want to get out, the water temperature 14 degrees, it felt just right. Any fatigue I felt from the run was rapidly exiting my body. The tingle of cold kissing my skin felt like a lovers kiss, made you shiver but felt good. Lying on my back I could see the climbers stood watching, I crossed my mind briefly how warm they must be after such a trek but I was there relishing the waters effects. Mentally I felt calm and refreshed, physically cooled and alive. The camera started getting used, diving under and clicking away; I knew the camera would not do justice to the sight before me. Diving down and trying to get to the bottom, legs and arms working hard but getting nowhere near, it’s wonderfully deep but still so clear. Breaking the water’s surface, still grinning, I am met with the sight of house martins, tons of them, where had they come from, as they dive bombed around us, in between us and over us, grabbing at the flies we were stirring up. The back drop of the ‘hill’ around us added to the moment, looking up as far as you could see....hill!!!

Eventually the time to exit the water came, but even then it was done slowly, the slate and stones glistened in front of us, demanded their share of attention, we literally swam and glided until there were only inches of water between us and the requirement to stand. But reluctantly stand we did, not a word, the grins said it all. Getting changed still silent....did we really have to leave the water and go back to reality. We did not want to; it was too special a place.

Fully dressed the walk back to the car was filled with chatter and the sharing of a chocolate bar, (carried my own rucksack back to the car! And yes all the way!), had we really just swam in this place, was it really as fab as it looked, and where would be the next swim. Food was required then a pin in the map to the next watery heaven! The views on the descent were equally as amazing, the camera should have been glowing red hot the amount it’s been used. Again the mountain goat in me came to the surface; the rucksack did not feel too bad now, so off I trotted back down.

Getting down to the car the grin was so wide I felt it would never stop. Wow what a hidden gem! Next on the agenda....food!!! Food duly consumed, it was time to head home, but wait, I had been promised a second swim. The thought of swimming in Derwent water after the spectacle of wonder we had just entered did not appeal, so we headed for Ullswater.

Finding a car park I rapidly adorned my spare wetsuit....and waded in, this time solo in the water. 17 degrees!!1 This really was my day for swimming, I was in heaven, again the water clear at the start, but then the complete opposite...depth and weed, swimming through these the water became cloudy then very cloudy as the depth increased. Geoff had been joined by others to sit on the rocks on the water’s edge. I am sure he must have been bored waiting for me to exit the water, but wait he did as I did my best otter impression. The scenery with the rolling hills around me was wonderful, the waters swell helping me bob along nicely. A few folk sitting on the shore thought me nuts....yep that’s about right but wow what a day of swimming. Next swim on the agenda Bowscale Tarn...with whatever else I can fit in as a secondary swim on the day.

Next day summary....legs have been lost, thighs are sooo sore but in a pleasant painful way, shoulders sore from the rucksack...note to self give rucksack to the Sherpa earlier on!!! Monday its Bowscale....fell running shoes and a wetsuit...what more can a girl ask for...oh sunshine but if it doesn’t come out...I will still do it!!

THE ONE HUNDRED CLUB - 10K SWIM

THE ONE HUNDRED CLUB

Ever eager to try new things and getting a tad bored of only swimming one mile races i pondered the thought of a much longer swim.....but which one! I wanted a proper distance, a challenge that i could train for over the summer months, so i decided on a 10k river swim to be held in the river Dart (The Dart 10k)

Entering online it dawned on me....when was the last time you swam 10k.....when i was MUCH younger! And even then i did it in a pool! Given that water temperatures are still low and variable down the to uk's ever changing weather, which manged to fool us into thinking that spring had arrived only to produce incredible amounts of snow in one day and drop the temperatures right down, it might have been a tad dangerous to attempt 10k at this time of the year. But i wanted to give it a go so off to the pool i headed, can i hire your pool for the afternoon please, the grunt i got back made up my mind there and then...find a different pool. Approaching Catterick Leisure centre I made the relevant enquiries, and got a positive response!. The idea of the swim to make it as acheiveable as possible was to do the swims in bouts of 100 metres, people can then choose the length of time that they wish to rest inbetween 100's and this combined with the time it took them to do the 100's would determine their final finish time.  Now to advertise to see if there were other like minded people....yes there were, facebook, twitter and word of mouth and we were good full up, Liz Reed even swimming on her birthday

Thanks to Kathryn Ayre she was reminded of it with a wonderful balloon, it was kept pool side to keep Liz motivated, and it worked!! Thanks to the rising fuel prices and an impending fuel shortage scare there were several people who literally could not get fuel to get to the swim, it was a shame as I would have liked them too, but fingers crossed they will be there for the next one.

The day of the swim and it was headless chicken time, the local Tesco's opposite the pool had promised some goodies for us for the swim, rushing in i soon came out with armfulls of bananna's, energy drinks and chocolate bars. Fab, Simply Swim also put some goodies our way, goggles, hats, ear plugs and anti fog solution, not sure who used them but they got used, if you like the products please do a review so others can be inpired to use the same products.

Setting up the table for registration, and just in time the first swimmers arrived...and pretty soon there was a flood of them (pun intended), all registered and marked up with numbers, the swimmers were put in to their classifications according to speed. And it did seem that in the fast lane there would be some competition! Thanks to word of mouth, knowing swimmers and facebook we had a lovely mix of swimmers, it was great to see children amongst them. A last minute addition to the group was a young lad who stated as he registered that he intended to swim the 10k non stop.....adults around him looked on in mutual respect and I can confirm as I was doing my laps in the next lane to him, he did just that....faster than alot of the adults too!!! Trust my word, he was a joy (if not a little intimiating) to swim along side!

Finally getting pool side and a quick briefing and the swimmers were in, the Northern Echo lent us a photographer so they could do a piece in the paper...and i did notice him snapping away. There were plenty of spectators, some of which got roped into last minute 'helpers', very grateful to them i am as well. Elena Meadowcroft successfully rounded up a group of her friends to act as lap counter for us so all we needed to do was give our number and the number of laps we had done. Paula, the pool manager also offered to come and assess the swimmers for pointers for improvement so every now and then i would see her walking around clipboard in hand.

Adding another 4 laps to the total!

The laps and indeed the kilometres soon started to mount up, white boards placed instratigic places allowed us to see how far we had swam as a whole. Every now and then it was food time, i have never seen banana's get eaten so quickly nor bottles of hydration emptied in seconds, and then it was time to get back in (getting out to eat, the legs near the end felt rubbery!!)

Long distance swimmers talk about the 'wall', similar to that, which long distance runners must get. I hit mine about the seven and a half kilometre point.  Hitting the wall is caused bythe depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by sudden fatigue and loss of energy.  A steady supply of bananas (enough to put me off them for a fortnight!), fluids and energy beans.

Oh god not another banana!

Thankfully as swimmers do they support each other and on we plodded, mantaining the same pace throughout the swim made it seem easy, my arm muscles and i am sure those of the other felt as if they had no flex left in them. But with such a small amount of laps to do there was no way any of us even thought to stop. Mentally we were all strong, physically the arms were tight and felt as if they were going to refuse to carry on!

But on they went and amazingly do did the arms of many of the other swimmers, some who achieved their goal be it 3k or 5k were happy to call it a day at that point, sucessful in their goal and pleased with their acheivement. Others who had turned up, 'just to see how far' they could get kept on going, I am sure the words of Nemo from the film, Finding Nemo, Just Keep Swimming. If you have not seen it here is the link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmyUkm2qlhA. Hope you enjoy it.

Elena Meadowcroft replenishing the water supplies!

Continue we did, those in the fast lane seemed to be positively flying along, occasionly stopping for hydration, glancing over occasionally I would see Mark Elliott and Steve Wilburn stood grinning. I was pleased, please were rising to the challenge and enjoying themselves.

It remains for me to say a huge thank you for all those that attended the swim, for those who travelled fair distances to get there ), and to those closer to home who made the day special. I hope you enjoyed youselves, acheived your target time and distance.....and maybe fancy having another go later in the year!!!!

The swimmers
Kate Whittaker, Sue Austen, Paul Smith, Alison Darley, Jill Marley, Cath Greensit, Jo Norton-Barker, Paul Smith, Rob Chaplin, Rich Hunt, Christopher Pengilley, Jonny Carr, Charlotte Pengilley, Ollie Carr, Paul Taylor, Mark Elliott, Steve Wilburn, Geoff Armstrong, Tony McNeill, Melissa Hepburn, Liz Reed, Bernadette Wilson, Tristan Lovell, Marie Lovell, Shirley Emerson, Suzanne Charnock, Kathryn Ayre, Martin Holland, Dorothy Mills and of course myself Pauline Squire.

5 GREAT SWIMS

FIVE GREAT SWIMS

Ever since I started doing the great swims its been in the back of my head to do all 5, a variety of things have stopped me, mass participation events (not really a fan of the fight at the start), temperature, cost, and even the dreaded blue green algae poked its ugly nose in, you name it i came up with them all, after all doing all 5 is not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things but it was a commitment i was not sure i would be able to keep given the whole of excuses i could dream up not to do them.

My first every ' Great' swim was the Scottish, turning up with pre swim belly....you know what i mean..not relishing the thought of putting on a wetsuit in that weather, getting in the cold dark waters of Strathclyde....couldn't i think of anything better to do with my weekends...well i could but i certainly could not blog about them!!! Turning up for that first race i stopped along the shoreline to watch the other swimmers...and witnessed a woman going hell for leather...and getting nowhere, the wind was shall we say unkind, the current doing its best to throw her out, doing breast stroke she battled onwards but literally judging by the tree i was using as a sighting marker, making absolutley NO progress. What hope was there for me, my insides liquidising as i walked.....i needed the loo and fast! At near sobbing point in the ladies toilets i tried to calm myself down, after all this was far from my first time in open water, i could swim, i am competative, so what was the worry. Well aside from my then irrational fear of fish, swallowing diesal, and numerous others that my dreams had flooded my mind with (including swimming surrounded by dead goats....god knows where that one came from). A decent enough front crawler, would you believe, that by the half way mark i was mixing it up with breaststroke. Still calm but mentally berating myself....dam goggles, need ear plugs, must train harder. All sorts of thoughts flashing through my head, i could feel a right temper fit coming on, try as i might i could not get any speed in the water. Analysing it in calmer moments i realised that instead of just getting in and doing it, going for it and enjoying it, i had already predetermined it would be a bad one after all Scotland is notorious for its cold waters...did i shiver, not once!!!! The head had got the better of me, i was by no means last (40 mins) but i was furious with myself all the way home for the fact that i had let myself down. And so started a new process, get the mental aspect right

Having put in the training and commited financially i was all geared up for the 2010 greats...north, east, london, scotish and salford.Then every openwater swimmers nightmare happened.....the dreaded blue-green algae. The weather had provided the perfect conditions for growth....and grow it did, with not only the ' great swim series' having to cancel events but other race providers too. Disappointment was felt by thousands who had signed up.

Not to be too despondant there were plenty of other places to swim so with that in mind i set about attending those and also organising some myself! In total last year i managed over 160 swims. This years challenge being thorwted by 'germs' i now need to set another...how long could we prolong the season for! October and we were still in the water, the sun still belting down on us to the point that at Ellerton one sunny evening (2011) a group of us simply laid back in the water and relaxed...not really swimming i hear the cries...you should have been there, at one point i think Liz even fell asleep!

2011 popped up on the horizen and so did the 'Great swim series'.....surely they would all go ahead this year...please let them happen i said to myself....the organisers plotted and planned...and got it right, the water temperatures were a joy, and going to the different venues made it even more exciting, with London tempertures making it feel positively tropical. All too soon it was the final one...the Scottish...checking the internet before we set off...yipeeeeee. not a sign of cancellation. The weather was even being kind to us, sun shining all the way. Arriving at the venue my thoughts turned to my race here several years ago, was i as nervous...yes, was i intimidated...not this time. Did the water look inviting...no!

I was fine in the car on the way up to scotland, seeing Strathclyde park brought a wave of emotions, wow, this was the final race in the series, i was going to be able to do them all. Calm down i told myself, just relax and enjoy it. The i saw the ladies from ellerton that were also doing the race some of whom had the medals of competion round their necks...and instantly the tears came. This swim was an acheivement for me (doing all 5 great swims) but it suddenly dawned on me how far they had come as well, gone were the nerves, they stood there grinning in anticpation of the swim or of having done the swim, it really made me feel humble and proud to be apart of their journey with the open water.

The sun was shining, the venue great, my friends and fellow swimmers.....what more could you ask for! Having done so much swimming during the year in so many different locations its fantastic, you start to see people you have chatted to and raced with, its like a massive family converging for a get together. The social side of open water swimming means the we probably know more about our fellow swimmers than we do our work colleagues, after all we show our vulnerability, our fears, our laughs and our joy with people that we may only meet for an hour and not see again for months, but the same sense of acheivement and camorardory is strong. I do wonder if that is what is part of the draw of open water swimming. Most of these amazing people go on to be facebook friends and so the open water friendship continues.

Soon enough my swim wave came on, would the girls stay by the finish line and cheer me in as we had done with the others, i hoped so but did not want to ask. The emotions were starting to take hold again, what is it about the scottish swim that does that to me..answers on a post card please. Pretty soon the horn sounded and we were off, breaking away as i normally did i found myself a nice clear space in the water and soon had that lovely feeling of getting into the rythmn of the water as i passed swimmer after swimmer. Then at the second to last bouy a light bulb went off in my head...this is the last one - enjoy it, so i eased off the pace, only to find at the final bouy i was head to head with another swimmer, matched stroke for stroke!!! No way was i going to let this person beat me...i got him by a second! Turned and found out it was once of our ellerton swimmers! Did the girls stay and cheer me in...yes, i was over the moon. All five done just like that!! Even i could tell that my grin was massive!

So now I have done them, how do i feel, great, its an acheivement, and i am proud that i have done it, I enjoyed the Great series and hope that you will feel inspired to given them a go, one or all you will love them.  Whether its for charity or you own personal worth you could not want for a larger mass participation event where the choice of locations is brilliant (the Great East is my personal favourite) post your pictures or even write a blog and send it to me, i will add it for the world of swimmers to read, email me at pauline_squire@sky.com.