Borrans Park, Ambleside, Lake District
Neither of us wanted in. It was late in the day. We'd been for a pub lunch at The Royal Oak in Ambleside and we were full of food and the lure of an afternoon nap.
The sky was grey. Dark grey. The rain was off and on. Hail even, upon us leaving the pub.
But we continued, heads down, parking up. Quiet. Solitary despair. It's the second time I've nearly ducked out...
We walked over to Borrans Park. The shelter was easy to spot and right next to the shelter, the steps into the lake.
As we changed under the shelter, two swans swam over to patrol the steps. Blocking our only way in. Another opportunity to back off and go home. But I adopted bravery and strode over, using my stern teacher voice, and told them to be on their way. They drifted off easily, exposing another imposition: litter. Beauty made way for a major blemish on the surface.
There was nothing left but to step in. The final step, as we had been warned in the book, kind of disappears under foot. It's quite sandy when you land. Not too grotty which seems ironic given the surface pollution.
It was a brief dip as has become routine in our first winter as wild swimmers. But the real triumph came from the sense of achievement I got from doing something that I really hadn't wanted to do just 10 minutes before.
Borrans Park...convenience, beauty, and garbage all rolled in to one.
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