The early morning swimmers

As part of my research for my project on 'The Great British Seaside' I decided to interview a local group of early morning swimmers. The group swim from the beach here at Southsea all year round. When conditions are too cold or dangerous to swim, they still come down to the beach to enjoy a warm drink and have a chat together.

The early morning swimmers at Southsea beach

On the October morning that I interviewed them it was cold and there had been a slight drizzle of rain. I had dressed in a winter coat and gloves but was still unable to keep warm; the last thing that would cross my mind would be to strip down to a costume and enter in the freezing cold sea! The four ladies who were swimming that day weren't perturbed at all by the inhospitable weather conditions and duly swam in the sea under the watchful eye of Molly the seagull. Molly, who is an honorary member of the group, has become part of their community and daily routine. She joins them every morning and watches their daily dip into the sea from the channel marker near the shoreline.

Molly the seagull keeping a watchful eye

After their swim the ladies wash with a makeshift shower nearby and layer on their warm clothes. They each bring a flask of hot tea to drink which helps them to warm up.

A cold shower!

The group has evolved over a long time and they have been swimming together for many years. They tell me that there are others members of their community that regularly swim with them but aren't at the beach today. What strikes me about these ladies is just how warm, welcoming and friendly they all are; so much so that other members of the local community (dog walkers etc) often stop by and have a chat with the group. 

I asked them lots of questions about why they swam together each day and the overwhelming feeling was that they enjoyed the community spirit of it all. They told me that there is a really strong social element to coming to the beach as a group and having a swim together; it also set them up mentally for the day ahead. 

The group felt that Southsea was a particularly interesting stretch of water to watch with many different vessels passing through the harbour. They also explained how they found the sea to be at it's warmest in September having spent the summer months getting gradually heated up by the summer sun. They told me that they knew of other groups who swam from various other parts of the beach at different times of the day. 

As well as getting some really interesting research for my project I thoroughly enjoyed my chat with the swimmers and will keep in touch with them as my project progresses. I couldn't help but admire their spirit for braving the cold winter weather and they did say that I should really join them for a swim in the name of research.......maybe next time.