wild Swimming Adventures

In between working locally I took the opportunity to go on some mini swimmy adventures on Anglesey. I had a night swim which included a kit malfunction at Porth Tyn Tywyn and discovered a deserted beach with a bit of natural company at Traeth Gwyn. I couldn't resist a peep at the night location in daylight so popped back to check it out.

A Sunday swim with swans is all the more fun with a friend. We start in the dark, wallow in nature and experience an epic thunderous event.

We went by RIB boat for an afternoon of exploring by swimming in the caves of Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight. We rode past the Needles and got a beautiful view of the iconic stacks. We took our cocker spaniel puppy Cookie and had a splendid time swimming through tunnels, arches and into huge caves. It would have been accessible to swim or paddleboard to from Freshwater beach too. A lovely accessible exploration spot! I had a practice with my dome port for the swimming footage, it gave some good results, but I learned a few useful things, which I share at the end.

On a sunny Sunday we had an after work swim adventure. Having not swum in that river before, it was a bit of a safari, we spotted kingfishers, dragonflies, people in their pants, it was all happening! Love discovering a new spot. Special thanks to the advice from a fellow swimmer who was about to bike home after her early-morning dip, it turned out to be a cracker or a circular swim.

With so much rain recently I thought I'd walk to a somewhere I'd spotted on a map that was off the beaten track and looked promising. Come with me on a little adventure as I take a walk in the New Forest to test a new winter swim spot. A fun solo activity when fun has been in short supply recently!

Join me searching for a colourful sunrise swim. Figuring out when the beautiful colours show was half of the game, but I got there in the end. Top tip: get up earlier than you think is necessary!

Ever up for a micro adventure, I decided to go swimming in the dark with strangers. I signed up to an event with FaceBook group The Dales Dippers to swim in a waterfall at night. Janet's Foss is a waterfall on Goredale Beck near Malham and was the site for this mysterious bestdipever - meeting internet friends and making new friends.

One thing that is great about swimming with other people is you get to check out their swim kit. I usually get changed on a pebbly beach, or switch my footwear when back at the car, so with conditions which were muddier underfoot than my usual spots, I was really impressed with Stu's Swim Feral Turtleback Bag which has a waterproof bottom and an integrated insulated changing mat.

My 5 tips for swimming in Dubrovnik are ones that I have concluded during a short break in the city with non-swimmers staying in Lapad. The swims in the video are at Sunset Beach, Lapad; Kolorina Beach near Pile Gate; Main Beach, Lokrum Island.