[Pete Roberts]

R. Weaver, Frodsham, Cheshire, 24th Mar '12: 13C

Did my Sport Relief swim under ideal conditions. Unfortunately I have to keep near the bank where I'm in my depth of water. I have to keep stopping for a break because I don't have the stamina to swim "properly". I think I covered 300-400m in total.

My giving page: http://my.sportrelie...wildswimmerpete

Pete

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[Martyn Wells]

Well done Pete, great effort

[Pete Roberts]

 Martyn Wells, on 24 March 2012 - 23:31, said:

Well done Pete, great effort

Thanks Martyn, much appreciated.

Had a swim in the R. Weaver this afternoon, 27th Mar '12, without boots, gloves nor helmet - in Speedos only. I've never recorded inland temperatures this high in March - the Weaver was at 15C and I double checked at the recommended 400mm. 15C is accepted as the threshold for non-acclimatised swimmers to swim without any thermal protection.

Pete

This post has been edited by Pete Roberts: 27 March 2012 - 17:43

[Pete Roberts]

R. Weaver, Frodsham, 28th Mar '12: 15C

Water now greenish and slightly cloudy, much more so than yesterday so it looks like the unusual high water temperature has encouraged rapid alga growth.

Pete

[Ed.]

15C sounds almost tropical Pete and what you're probably accustomed too

This added warmth sure has added a spurt of colour be it on dry land or otherwise..

[Pete Roberts]

 Ed Shrops, on 28 March 2012 - 19:41, said:

15C sounds almost tropical Pete and what you're probably accustomed too

Well, I never made 0C this winter, 2.5C was my best shot.

Queens Dock, Liverpool, 29th Mar '12: 11.5C

I was hoping to get some shots of the docks as they are now, but a low sun near the horizon meant I'd have been shooting straight into the sun. I'm also very tired after a long evening and the return bus journey from Runcorn to Liverpool. Hopefully I can get some pics next time and do a bit of a write-up.

Pete

[Nigel Bolton]

Hi Pete,

That wasn't you in the Thames this afternoon???

N.

[Chris Alder]

 Ed Shrops, on 28 March 2012 - 19:41, said:

15C sounds almost tropical Pete and what you're probably accustomed too

This added warmth sure has added a spurt of colour be it on dry land or otherwise..

lol 15C water, I'd call that freezing! Double it and I might consider getting in.

[DG57]

 Chris Alder, on 07 April 2012 - 19:57, said:

lol 15C water, I'd call that freezing! Double it and I might consider getting in.

You're a real lagoon fish, Chris!
30°C is wonderful, okay, but 22/23°C is already nice! ...mh, 30°C is actually a bit too bath-like, which makes our fingers and toes wrinkled too quickly!
I love when you say "I might consider"... So, with 35°C, you'd be the happiest lagoon fish!

[Chris Alder]

 MorganeLanesle, on 07 April 2012 - 20:10, said:

You're a real lagoon fish, Chris!
30°C is wonderful, okay, but 22/23°C is already nice! ...mh, 30°C is actually a bit too bath-like, which makes our fingers and toes wrinkled too quickly!
I love when you say "I might consider"... So, with 35°C, you'd be the happiest lagoon fish!

Yep I only enter the water in the tropics!

[Pete Roberts]

 Nigel Bolton, on 07 April 2012 - 18:37, said:

Hi Pete,

That wasn't you in the Thames this afternoon???

N.

Not me - I never wear a wetsuit!

 Chris Alder, on 07 April 2012 - 19:57, said:

lol 15C water, I'd call that freezing! Double it and I might consider getting in.

But seriouly speaking, 15C is the minimum water temp. recommended for non-cold acclimatised swimmers - in other words for Joe Public swimming outdoors in just Speedos.

 MorganeLanesle, on 07 April 2012 - 20:10, said:

You're a real lagoon fish, Chris!
30°C is wonderful, okay, but 22/23°C is already nice! ...mh, 30°C is actually a bit too bath-like, which makes our fingers and toes wrinkled too quickly!
I love when you say "I might consider"... So, with 35°C, you'd be the happiest lagoon fish!

I haven't been too good for a few days and was almost tempted to go down to the R. Weaver - but I chickened out and spent most of the afternoon in my local leisure centre's bath-warm (30C) pool listening to one of "Fluff" Freeman's Pick of the Pops that I recorded years ago and have on my iPod (with waterproof headphones and waterproof housing for the iPod )

It would be interesting to find out how much the water temp in the Weaver has fallen during the cold snap. However it's possible I might be out on a lorry run to Carmarthen, and we'll be coming back through Builth Wells - so I should get a swim in the Wye. I suspect the river temp. will be back down to what I'd expect in winter, very likely single-digit temp.

Pete

[Ed.]

 Chris Alder, on 07 April 2012 - 19:57, said:

lol 15C water, I'd call that freezing! Double it and I might consider getting in.

W African coast gave me a taster of 28C+ water temps, Welsh coast in March at 'tother end of the scale, probably much nearer 14C, does that count lol...

So long as the beer stays cold, all should be okay
done a few river swims inbetween, including the Dee, Llangollen on a particularly cool and blustery Spring day, got a few waves that day!

[BUTTERFLY]

"W African coast gave me a taster of 28C+ water temps, Welsh coast in March at 'tother end of the scale, probably much nearer 14C, does that count lol..."

I think 14 deg. C. is a tad optimistic; http://www.wetterzen...pics/brack5.gif shows temperatures currently about 10 deg. C. or so off the coast of Wales. See also http://www.uni-koeln...snoweuropa.gif. Only the seas around Madeira, in the latter link, have reached 20 deg. C, although maxima would probably not be reached for another 4-5 months. The warm sunshine in late March obviously will have raised the inland water temperatures much more quickly than that of the sea, and conversely the latter will have fallen substantially with the cool weather this month, whereas that of the sea will probably have remained constant or nearly so.

We should remember that mean temperatures have been generally above or well above average from September 2011 onwards with a pretty mild winter (more so in the west, as the cold 1st half of February 2012 particularly affected the south-east, etc and this would have had a significant effect on the winter as a whole). November 2011 and March 2012 were particularly mild. It looks that there is a chance that April will end up with CET below average, though it may not be too much below normal; personally I would guess between 0.5 and 1.0 deg. C. below normal.

[Pete Roberts]

R. Wye, Builth Wells, Tues 10th April '12: 8.5C

The river was muddy and running fast, so much so ducks and other waterfowl couldn't swim against the current. I'd describe the current to be at least running speed. I did enter the water but well out of the current. The depth is about my waist height but there's no way I'd risk the current particularly as I'm very buoyant and would be swept off my feet. The water temp. is lower than expected considering the warm weather during the last two weeks of March, and reflects the effect of considerable snow melt.

There's an official website that gives information on Builth Wells, the Wye and its bridge:

http://builth-wells.co.uk/

Pete

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[Pete Roberts]

Sorry for not posting any more reports but I've not been swimming outdoors - partly down to the depressing weather, but also my having a bit of a relapse. Apparently this is quite normal so I just have to give give myself a good talking to. Not joking either - I talk to myself because that's how I'm training myself to speak.

Meanwhile although I haven't measured the water temps in inland waters, I'd appreciate reports from anyone who can measure their local rivers and lakes. Meanwhile despite the appalling April weather sea surface temps seem to be rising along the west side of the UK, but North Sea SSTs remain on the low side for the time of the year. Mind you at the end of April I should expect around 10-12C. According to the Barrow Waverider buoy the SST is 9C.

Pete

[Pete Roberts]

R. Weaver, Frodsham, Cheshire, 30th April '12: 9C

Much lower than the 15C recorded at the end of March. Running very fast and very muddy with flotsam all over the sailing club's lawn, so the river must have flooded during the past 36 hrs. Level now is slightly higher than normal. I did enter the water but only for a cold dip - there's no way I'd leave hold of the ladder. I'd end up in mid-stream amongst rest of the floating flotsam swirling past.

Pete

[Pete Roberts]

R. Spey, Aviemore, Highland, 8th May 12: 7.0C

I must admit I was unsure of what to expect. The Spey rises in a notoriously cold area, and my experience of the river was during what is really part of an extended winter. Many trees were still bare and those in bud were a couple or so weeks behind those in lowland areas.

When I visited the river was running fast with obviously turbulent flow in spots, and I restricted myself to a cold bath in the shallows as I didn't want to be swept downsream. The bed was sandy with some expanses of flat rock. Access to the river is easy with riverside paths. Unlike with England and Wales, responsible recreational access to rivers and other waters is a right under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, so cold swims aren't a problem north of the border.

In the first view, behind me is the railway station and the shopping centre. Aviemore is obviously a tourist town with quite a few of shops devoted to mountaining and other outdoor persuits. Otherwise there's a Tesco and a small Subway - I didn't see any of the "burger" chains. Pictured is a small feature with a small waterfall. A small brook feeds the feature which then flows alongside a footpath under the railway, then on to where it meets the Spey.

The railway station is on the Inverness to Edinburgh/Glasgow line with a manned ticket office. The buildings themslves are traditional with little sign of the tasteless "modernisation" obvious in many the stations. The ambience is only really spoiled by that curse of the times: overweening CCTV surveillence.

Aviemore station is also terminus to the Strathspey Railway, a heritage line. In fact one of their trains was waiting on the other (private) side of platform 2 while I was waiting for the First Scotrail service to Glasgow.

Pete

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This post has been edited by Pete Roberts: 09 May 2012 - 10:57

[DG57]

Hi Pete,

The description of your walks and swims are serious, complete and simple.
...and three nice photos! Thanks!

I bought a few days ago two books at Amazon.co.uk that are Wild Swimming Coast (Britain) and Wild Swimming France. I've just received them today. They're very nice.

Wild Swimming Coast (Britain) (link)
Wild Swimming France (link)

[Pete Roberts]

MorganeLanesle, on 09 May 2012 - 11:37, said:

Hi Pete,

The description of your walks and swims are serious, complete and simple.
...and three nice photos! Thanks!

Thank you Morgane, in fact the author of the books Daniel Start is consultant to the River and Lake Swimming Association - I had lunch with Daniel and RALSA's founder Yacov Lev in the Carrier's Inn which adjoins Hatchmere, the Cheshire lake that saw the campaign to keep swimming at the lake. The nasty campaign fought by the Friends of Hatchmere, was subsequently successful which led to the formation of RALSA. I must admit I was one of the ringleaders.

Unfortunately I can't swim very often in the lake because my stroke has left me unfit to drive so unless someone takes me I'm restricted to places I can reach by public transport.

Anyway, it's BOGOFF this time:

Pickmere, Cheshire, 10th May '12: 13C

R. Weaver, Frodsham, Cheshire, 12th May '12: 12C

Although still muddy and a couple of inches above normal level, the current was now it's usual 1-2mph.

Pete

[Pete Roberts]

Hatchmere, Delamere Forest, Cheshire 13th May '12: 14C

Despite the past chilly weather, the lake temperature was approaching what would be expected at this time of the year. The reeds have just begun growing but are a couple of weeks or so late. The water level was a few inches high and the little sand beach was covered. The water itself was a dark brown because of the tannins from the forest. Hatchmere is a natural lake - a "kettle hole" left behind by a retreating glacier. Cheshire has deposits of clay and sand left behind by glacial activity.

Swimming is allowed but should be restricted to the zone marked on the aerial photo near the bottom of the website: http://hatchmere.com/

The sandy bay and picnic area are for visitors' use, but while the water in the little bay is shallow, children and non-swimmers should not go past the marker post. Mine host at the Carriers Inn, Andy and his staff, extend a warm welcome and the large beer garden gives plenty for room for children to play in safety.

http://www.thecarriersinn.com/

Pete

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