By Adrian Bridge
I could have drowned – but wild swimming is addictive
The deaths of two teenage girls in the River Wear won't stop me from taking dips in our open waters, says Adrian Bridge
This weekend, I will be visiting a friend in Cambridge and will seize the opportunity to realise a long-held ambition: to swim in the River Cam.
I will, of course, heed any Do Not Swim signs; I will speak to locals about where best to get in; I will look closely at how fast the river is flowing and whether there are likely to be issues with strong currents; I will try to pick somewhere where others are also swimming or have also swam; I will (this being Cambridge) keep a close look out for any passing punts – then I will enter the water and renew my love affair with Britain’s wonderful rivers, lakes, ponds and open sea swimming spots.
I am not alone in my passion for wild swimming. Indeed, until recently, it seemed that I was riding (as it were) the crest of a wave. All sorts of people were liberating themselves from chlorinated, crowded and characterless indoor swimming pools and discovering the joys – and the feel-good factor health benefits – of swimming outdoors.