Wild about swimming

Tammy McAllister
BBC Somerset

A brave move by Daniel Start

It's a rather cold windy spring day at West Lydford church near Lydford on Fosse, a popular spot for wild swimmers in the spring and summer months.

I am joined by Daniel Start, a wild swimmer - a hobby he has enjoyed all his life.

Although I've excused myself from dipping into the River Fosse, it's something that hasn't put off Daniel: "I love wild swimming in Somerset. I was brought up by the side of a river - rope swings and river rafts paddling and dam making. Every summer it's a wonderful thing to do."

Daniel is so passionate about his hobby that he has written a book and runs a website about the topic.

"Wild swimming gets you really close to nature, you can throw yourself in and you're swimming amongst the fish and you're seeing things from a frog's eye perspective, so you're seeing wildlife much closer to hand."

The best time of year is from about March to late September, where temperatures in rivers range from 12-13 degrees Celcius to as high as 20 degrees Celcius.

However the occasional dip in winter is not unheard of.

Daniel said the water was lovely

"In the winter when we get a day when it's really sunny or when we want to get out of the city then sometimes we'll go out for a quick dip - and it will be freezing but it's worth doing."

There's also a noticeable difference in water quality.

"The water is generally much softer and silkier when you're in nature because you don't have the chlorine in, and you don't get the irritation that you can get in swimming baths because of the chlorine in your eyes and in your hair.

"I compare wild swimming and normal swimming as the difference between in going for a workout at the gym versus for a walk in the countryside."

Although today's colder weather put me off from taking a dip this time, his descriptions of the enjoyment of wild swimming were very alluring.

For novices like me, Daniel said the most obvious thing was to not to go alone and to wear trainers in case I felt uneasy about going barefoot on the riverbed.

"You also need to know how to swim obviously, and you need to check the depth and check there aren't any obstructions but as long you do that it is very safe. The water quality in Somerset is very good. Apart from that the risks are quite low."

If you want to try out wild swimming and get more advice, click on the links to the right of this page to learn more.