Weekly blog: Cold water swimming, navigation nerds & running for sunrise

Nov 27, 2023

Good morning! It really does feel like winter now with those few beautiful frosty mornings we've had this week, and the forecast is looking like we might even have some snow soon ❄️👀 I can't wait for those wintery walks!

Anyway, here's my weekly blog post, I hope you enjoy!

Alice's diary:

It's been a bit of a busy week with lots of admin to do so mostly I've been sat at my desk in front of the computer, but I still managed to get out and see some amazing scenes!

Wednesday morning I looked out of my window to see what I could tell was going to be an epic sunrise, so I grabbed my dryrobe and ran to catch it and it was AMAZING. This is the time of year to be trying to get up and out for sunrise as much as possible as they are at a reasonable time and always so beautiful.

Thursday evening we had our first winter talk by Emma Ratcliffe all about mushrooms 🍄. It was SO interesting and I could have talked to her all evening. Members can access the recording of the talk in the portal here and you can book onto our next winter talk here.

Friday morning I went for the dreamiest sunrise swim at one of my favourite swim spots - Farleigh Hungerford (just outside of Bath)

Saturday & Sunday I taught two navigation days - one for beginners and one for improvers. We had one attendee come on both days and she got so much out of it, mainly because the sooner you practice the more likely it will be embedded in your brain! But also because the weather conditions were totally different - we had pure sunshine on Saturday and thick fog on Sunday which gave the perfect opportunity to practice different skills for different conditions. More navigation days will be announced for January so keep an eye out!

Things to click on:

One of my favourite walks in Somerset

This YouTube video about slow living

The book that re-kindled my love for hiking 8 years ago

My favourite waterproof jacket

Another of my favourite swim spots in the South West

In the spotlight: Hike around the Black Mountains with me on Friday

One of my favourite walks in the Brecon Beacons is this 14km circular around Grwyne Fawr reservoir and the wild landscape of the Black Mountains. There are still spaces left for you to come and join a group of us on Friday. It's going to so stunning!