Yesterday was the official first day of the astronomical spring, while the meteorological spring kicked off on 1 March. But while the days are definitely getting longer and the daffodils are out, there's little sign of spring in the water. The temperature in the English Channel is a brisk 6.7 degrees
while the Thames at Teddington is just 5.5 degrees. Many inland lakes will be colder. Yet in the next few weeks, a number of commercial venues will be opening up for the season.
Unless there is a sudden change in the weather, it's likely water temperatures will remain in single figures and unusually cold for the time of year for a while longer. While Jonathan (our editor) and Alice (our contributing editor) swim outdoors
all year and in all temperatures, I prefer to wait until the water temperature reaches double figures at least.
If you're new to outdoor swimming or not a committed winter swimmer, you may want to consider doing the same. Even with a wetsuit, swimming in water of less than 10 degrees can be a painful experience. We wouldn't want your first outdoor swim to be so off-putting that it's also your last. If you do swim, prepare
accordingly. Wear an additional layer beneath your wetsuit, put on two caps or use a neoprene cap. There's no shame in wearing wetsuit gloves and socks. It's better to start cautious and remove excess kit. Pay no heed to the hardened winter swimmers who seem impervious to the cold. That status has been earned through training and experience.
Meanwhile, this is deadline week for us as we send our April issue to the printer on
Thursday. It's a special issue for us as it's our first anniversary since our rebranding to Outdoor Swimmer and we've packed it with some great stories including a fantastic piece on "tarn bagging" and contributor Becky Horsbrugh's amazing Bangla Channel swim. It should start arriving with subscribers by 31 March - unless we get delayed by snow
again!
Enjoy the newsletter and happy swimming,
