Dosthill Quarry, Tamworth is a place I'd never visited. Many, many years ago it would occasionally be in the local newspaper as a danger spot, indeed some had drowned there as I believed it was unmanned, unlike the very well supervised place it is today. Its natural beauty is stunning.
Apparently it is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Much later it was renown for granite excavations and a fresh water spring flooded the quarry. By 1958 scuba diving, cliff jumping and swimming were being established. In 2015 the famous Milk Tray cliff diving advert was filmed at this location.
I can't see myself being brave enough for jumping or diving but over the years have been interested in people swimming in cold water, 'how on earth do they do that?!' I would think, seeing them run down to the sea in winter or into a lake.
During the Pandemic of Covid 19 in 2020 when I was prevented from enjoying the warm waters of a swimming pool I recalled a lovely memory of the one time I swam in the river Lune in Lancashire with an elderly lady friend. It was an experience that would see me well when my daughter told me her friend's mother swam regularly outdoors in various locations.
I was also in awe of Reverend Kate Botley, in her swimming costume and woolly hat, swimming wild on the television. Ben Fogle swam in a lake too in his 'Living in the Wild' programme. I think my daughter was astonished when I said I'd like to do that too and no sooner said than arranged. Live life whilst you can is a motto both of us use.
The first occasion we hired wet suits and floats and the attendant made sure we could float and swim, giving us instruction where to swim as the divers entered and emerged from the depths at certain points. I really did not want to think about how deep the quarry is, knowing that there was nowhere to touch the ground, but good to know I was being held up by the wetsuit and float. I had no hesitation of entering the water, I so wanted to do this!
Having arrived with my cossy on under my joggers and jumper (for warmth afterwards) I then had the first experience of squeezing myself into a really tight one-piece, not a quick and easy feat. And after the swim peeling it off whilst trying to be quick to dry myself was awkward. But how can I describe the joy I felt after the first open water swim? The clearness of the water, fresh and mineral filled, not salty like the sea or warm and claggy like the chlorine of swimming pools but pure and exhilarating. I loved it!
Being surrounded by greenery, and on our third visit being watched by a heron, is just heavenly. I can only say I felt totally at peace, at one with the world such as it is with its horrors, diseases, tragedies and tribulations. Everything but the moment melts away. Pure bliss. I don't want to get out but find the feeling of calm and exhilaration carry on for sometime afterwards.
This borrowed 'shorty' suit was so much better to swim in and now I have my own wetsuit, an early birthday present from my daughter. I'm not sure I'll be up for the depths of winter swimming and might defer to indoor swimming if all Covid restrictions are lifted, but I now look forward to my once a week wild swim. Never too old to try something new!
Afterword : Dosthill Quarry can be found on YouTube for those interested in Scuba Diving. It is 24m deep and the water temperature has been 16-18 degrees on my visits. It is home to a variety of fish, and hidden in its depths, there are various wrecks to be explored.
