TALES FROM UP NORTH
Sea swimming
Credit: Pete Kelly, Swim the Lakes
Swimming in a green and glittering tarn yesterday, soaking up the warmth of the sun, I was taken by how much this small body of water was part of the earth. Reamed out of the fell by glaciers and hemmed in by moraine, at water level the tarn seems an extension of its surroundings. The earthy smell of the cirque and the clean mineral taste of the water reinforce the illusion. Then the sharp call of a gull overhead stole away my attention and made me think of the sea, transporting my thoughts elsewhere, to another world entirely.