Rivers expert, adventurer and author Tessa Wardley talks to Jane McGowan about taking the plunge into Surrey’s wild waters.
Author Tessa Wardley developed a passion for water at an early age. Her regular swimming lessons quickly became the highlight of her week and it wasn’t long before she was joining her siblings splashing about in the rivers and streams around her Norfolk home.
“My parents were outdoorsy and growing up in Norfolk, which is virtually an island, a lot of our weekends involved sailing on the Broads or going to the coast,” says Tessa. “And we went in the sea whatever the weather.”
Tessa’s love of the blue not only led her to build a successful career in environmental management and water ecology, but it has also helped her carve out a career as an author.
“I have always worked in water, I have always loved water and once we had children, we found a lot of the places we took them to around Surrey were all around water,” she explains. “But there didn’t seem to be any books about things to do on the river, so I decided to write one.”
And while some authors slave away for years with only a sack-load of rejection letters to show for the endeavours, Tessa found herself in the enviable position of having several publishers all keen to sign her up. She plumped for Bloomsbury – who not only wanted to publish her pictures and artwork too, but offered her a three-book deal. This, as any writers out there will appreciate, really is the stuff of dreams.
Yet it doesn’t stop there. While Tessa was completing The Countryside Book (the third in the series following The River Book and The Woodland Book, Leaping Hare Press (one of the failed suitors the first time round) contacted her out of the blue about writing something from a mindfulness angle which would fit in better with its list.
“They asked me if I would like to do a swimming book and of course I thought, ‘That would be really nice,’ so I said ‘Yes’.”
Mindfulness, which according to the Oxford Living Dictionary means: “The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something or a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique” – has become one of the watch-words of the past five years and is employed by millions the world over to try and bring a sense of calm into a frantically-paced, social-media mired lives.
In The Mindful Art of Wild Swimming, Reigate-based Tessa explores how swimming in open waters can help reconnect you to the natural world and how with each stroke your mind shakes off a little more of the daily grind, helping you progress to a state of inner calm.
“I suppose I do have a mindful approach to life,” says Tessa. “But I have never formally ‘done’ it, if you know what I mean. When you’re wild swimming, you can’t help but be mindful, you are out in the countryside and immersed in water. I think it almost typifies mindfulness.”
In the book Tessa describes how once in the water you will “relax into the flow, your breathing becomes one with your movements… your mind calms achieving a clarity to match that of a mountain pool”, and while all that sounds rather blissful, surely the reality of jumping into a chilly, murky river from a mud-mired bank is far less pleasant.
“There are some lovely spots near here,” Tessa insists, citing the River Mole near Dorking and the River Wey, near Guildford. “But I don’t believe in making a burden of anything in life. So I won’t force myself to go for a freezing cold swim if I’m not in the mood. I’ll keep my clothes on and go for a walk.”
Another benefit of wild swimming is that you don’t need really need any fancy kit. Although Tessa prefers not to wear a wetsuit unless she has to, the rules of open swimming often state that wetsuits must be worn if the temperature falls below 15 degrees C. To be honest, I would be more than happy to hide in a wetsuit whatever the temperature, although Tessa maintains that where wild swimming is concerned, a bikini body is definitely not one of the requirements and although you often swim in groups – for safety as much as anything – wild swimming is all about wellness, both in terms of your body and your mind.
“The physical benefits of swimming have long been known,” says Tessa. “But there has now been lots of research to show the benefits of swimming for our mental health – being immersed in water outside, whether swimming, surfing or splashing around has real benefits and the armed forces are using it to help those suffering for PTSD and it is now used wider to combat anxiety and depression.”
And as the warmer days approach, making the prospect of taking a dip a little more attractive, I must admit, Tessa has me sold on having at least a paddle in my local river.
“Wild swimming is about taking your time and enjoying every moment and that is where the mindfulness really comes in,” she says. “So much of life just passes you by and just making the decision to go for a swim – has meant you have instantly made time. You have made a choice that you are not going to be rushing around for an hour or even half an hour – you have made some time and some space.
“For me it’s an opportunity to put aside all the stressful things in life and focus on what your doing in your body at that moment paying attention to your body and really feeling the sensations, the smells, the sounds – actually really being there and living it. We spend so much of our lives only half there – always half thinking about what’s next or when the kids are back and so on, but getting into the water negates all those thoughts.”
So, go ahead, dive in.
Wild Swimming in Surrey
- Frensham Great Pond: large lake with a small buoyed-off area suitable for swimming which has a depth of 1.5m. Great for a family day out as you can explore the forest and open heathland too. Parking onsite as well as a cafe and small museum. Visit: waverley.gov.uk
- Thorpe Open Water Swimming Lakes, Chertsey: perfect for those embarking on triathlon training or starting open water swimming, courses stretch from 400m to 1,500m and there is a rescue kayak on hand at all times. Facilities include showers, refreshments and wetsuit hire. Visit: thorpeopenwaterswimming.co.uk
- Divers Cove in Godstone: situated just off the A25 (about 2 miles from Junction 6 of the M25) Divers Cove is part of the East Lake Nature Reservoir where you will find open water swimming as well as scuba diving. Facilities include an on-site café, changing rooms and a small shop. Visit: diverscove.co.uk
- Desborough Island: perfect for a paddle or a cheeky swim, the Island is a very popular spot near Shepperton.
Rules and Regulations
The rules regarding where you can swim are quite complex. According to River Swimming UK: You have a right to 'navigate' (not 'swim') in most, but not all, tidal waters. There may be local bylaws prohibiting swimming in certain tidal waters for a variety of reasons. Swimming may be allowed in many stretches of rivers which are not tidal, where there is an established historic use by the public or an Act of Parliament establishing public navigation rights. If anyone can sail a boat in a river as of right without having to obtain permission (or belong to a club) there are public navigation rights over the water which means that you are probably (but, again, not always) allowed to swim.” For more information visit: river-swimming.co.uk
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