Original text to restoreThe full text of this post could not be retrieved from the old site during the rebuild. What follows describes what the piece covers — paste Emma's original writing in over the top of it.
Emma writes about year-round sea swimming on the Isle of Wight with her husband — and how, although they usually log their swims with some precision, her favourite outings are the ones spent drifting with the tide for several kilometres along the coast. September once marked the end of the season; now the island has seen a surge of swimmers who simply carry on, and December mornings find the beaches full of people of every age and size going in together. She interviews Alison Butcher of the Bedford Weed Waders about what draws people to it: often the wish to reclaim something lost, whether self-belief, confidence or peace of mind. Butcher describes it as meditation in motion, and says wild swimmers have no regrets — soulful warriors of the water, no bravado, only humility. The piece closes with a poem by Mandy Tompkins about celebrating friendship over self-criticism.