During the summer, I spent a week of July in Newquay, Cornwall. Whilst I was there, I explored the amazing coasts and countryside that Newquay has to offer, as well as swimming in the ocean every day.
This was my first time travelling completely independently, before I have always travelled with friends or family. I found the experience of being somewhere completely by yourself very gratifying. I had total freedom to plan the trip exactly how I wanted to, which was freeing. I also found the solitude much more enjoyable than I expected. Being in the countryside and on the beach alone was calming and gave me plenty of time to think about the year ahead. Keeping within my budget, a skill I have (tried to) develop at university was less of a challenge than I anticipated as the most appealing activities, namely spending time in nature, were all free.
Moving onto the swimming itself, I found it incredibly difficult at first. Swimming in the open ocean with the currents, waves, and the occasional stray piece of seaweed was an entirely different experience to swimming in a heated indoor pool. Whilst I had gone swimming once in the outdoor Jesus Green Lido, even that did not compare to wild ocean swimming. After the first day I was completely wiped out. In a pool I can swim for 30 minutes quite comfortably, however on the first day I struggled to make it to 15. The swimming was such a different exercise than what I was used to or expected. The best comparison I can think of is running on concrete or grass versus trying to run on sand. It felt as though the environment you were trying to move through was fighting you every step of the way. The beach I did most of my swimming at (Porth Beach) was manned by lifeguards, so I made sure to stay within the flags at all times in case I got into trouble in the water.
Yet, despite all of this, I still loved it. It was hard work, but so incredibly rewarding. I felt myself improving throughout the week as I got used to the current and the feel of the water moving around me. By the end of the week, I had worked my way up to a comfortable 20 minutes of ocean swimming. I was sad to leave at the end of the week, and I wish I could’ve carried on swimming for the rest of the summer. I hope to carry on wild swimming this summer and for many summers after that.
I am incredibly grateful to the Gateway Programme, the Rosemary Murray Travel Fund, and Murray Edwards College for allowing me to experience such a wonderful trip. I would not have been able to discover a love for wild swimming without the two funds. I couldn’t recommend wild swimming or the Gateway Programme more!
Abi Caple
Undergraduate student, Law