The aim of the project.....

The aim of the project was to deepen the individual experience of Outdoor Swimming and in doing so to broaden the ways this can be shared with others. We sat quietly before the swims, sinking fully into our bodies, and turning awareness into our physical senses and the surroundings. We swam silently at first and then engaged in conversation if we felt like it. We tried to notice everything we were experiencing in the water. We had the opportunity to respond creatively to each swim at the location, on the waterside. The creative response could be writing, painting, drawing and was kept in our own journals. I advertised for 10 participants via the Pells Pool, Lewes and within a few weeks had over 100 people write to me asking if they could take part. Finally I picked my group... 13 in the end. We went on four different swims over the space of a couple of weeks - all in East Sussex: Barcombe Mills river at late evening, Tide Mills Sea at dawn, Weir Wood reservoir at early evening and Pells Pool lido at full moon. Since then, many of us meet up frequently and are enjoying these new friendships!