Saturday, August 4, 2012

Little Dip in Buttermere

Another try of my new toy (wetsuit). Today I had a swim cap which completely solved the ice cream headache issue of my first swim. Heading to Crummock Water from Keswick, over Honister Pass, we decided to stop on the shores of Buttermere just before Hassness and go for a little dip.
 
Stood there on the grass (putting your wetsuit on while you are stood on grass rather than shingle stops you getting little stones all over it) I was greeted by what looked very much like the Gatesgarth Farm cat. Very friendly and using the leaning post to scratch on.

After a quick change and making sure I put on my swim cap, I was ready to go. With my wetsuit on, it felt lovely and warm (Jonathan put his hand in the water and said that it was really cold). I walked for a bit but quickly realised it is actually easier to lift your legs up and float into deeper water. Out I went, further than my first swim, happy and safe in the knowledge that wetsuits are floaty.

It was cloudy and raining at Buttermere. It made for some beautiful scenery. In fact, I think I have found a great rainy day activity.

I swam out a fair way until I was well out of my depth. I did a fair bit of front crawl and also quite a bit of just floating about on my front and back.

It got a bit spooky at the point where I couldn't see the bottom and it was dark and murky when I put my face in the water but I was able to keep my composure enough to practice this for a while.

This whole open water swimming is still something I'm getting used to and is a work in progress. Physically, it's very easy to swim in a wetsuit. The buoyancy means that you don't have to use your legs at all.



After splashing around for, what felt like a good period of time, I set off back to the shore.

When I got to the shore, things got a bit comedic. I managed to aim myself at a group of slippery rocks and spent a good five minutes slipping and falling over, paranoid that I was going to rip my wetsuit on one of them. I eventually managed to get over the rocks and headed back to the shore. The great thing was that, standing there in the rain, I wasn't cold at all.

Beautiful Buttermere.

 

2 comments:

  1. looks very cool swimming in your wet suite,wish i could do it,i like water but it doesent iike me.

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