Katie Maggs’s
In the darkness of the dawn my morning walk to the sea takes me past a residential care home. As I stand sheltering from the wind and the rain, I can’t help but wonder… In the future will I be helped from my bed, handed a cup of tea and sat in a chair in front of the television? Or will I, like so many of my older swimming friends, be out here, in the wild, at one with the ocean and feeling ever so wonderfully free?
I am fortunate to swim with an incredible group of intrepid older swimmers who meet each day at dawn at Battery Rocks in the small coastal town of Penzance in Cornwall. As I have photographed the daily rituals of these inspirational wild swimmers it has led me to think about not only the physical health benefits of regular immersion in cold water but also the impact it has on our ability to live longer, happier and more purposeful lives.