By Monica Chard
Why was I up at 5.30am? I kept wondering, until the sun came over the horizon and threw a golden glow over Chertsey bridge and the river as I drove towards Laleham. Pure magic and worth getting up to see.
But I was up to meet the Win the Morning Win the Day (WTMWTD) crowd who have been meeting at Laleham Riverside, every Friday at 6am since last autumn. They start with a walk round the park, then get ready for the main attraction – a dip in the Thames. When I joined the group in November last year we had walked around Laleham Park in the dark and the dip had been short. This time it was a short walk before the swim.
Wild swimming is all the rage. Reports on the radio and TV, magazine articles etc. The ben-efits for mental and physical health have per-suaded many to take the plunge and evidence is that once you try, you get addicted to the rush. The group I joined was 15 strong and there were two slightly nervous newbies. Like me, they professed to feeling the cold, so a dip in the Thames at 6.30am was not exactly natu-ral to them. Michelle Tucker, professional wellbeing and parenting coach, who runs the WTMWTD group gave them advice and made sure they had floats, gloves and footwear. It is a supportive group and as Michelle said, no-body judges anyone. It is a real leveller.
After a moment of silence the group stepped into the water, some more gingerly than oth-ers, but all set to enjoy the moment. To add an extra bit of fun, the group had decided to bring inflatables, so the atmosphere was like a holiday camp!
The regulars got in without further ado. The newbies dipped their toes in, got in as far as the knees and hesitated. First one went for it, the shock of the cold water to the uninitiated bringing with it a rush of adrenaline. Then the second joined her. They were both exhilarated to have got in, but decided 5 minutes was enough for the first dip.
A couple of swimmers paddled upstream to get some exercise. The rest just had fun, jumping on a giant floating carpet, falling off, splashing around and having an absolute ball. It was not wild swimming. It was crazy! A couple of early cyclists came past and did a double take!
Talking to members as they got out revealed some who had been regulars since last autumn and swum regularly all the way through the winter. A couple had only notched up a few swims, but the consensus seemed to be that after 3-4 swims they were all hooked.
Personally, I still hover at the riverside taking photos of these crazy, happy people, still thinking to myself that it is not for me. But maybe….just maybe I will give it a try!
If you are braver than me and feel you want to give wild swimming a try, join the WTMWTD group at Laleham Riverside at 6am every Friday. You might just become addicted….
(Call Michelle on 07772 348182)