Durdle Door

We’re on holiday in Dorset and I have achieved another ambition – today I swam through Durdle Door!  I thought it might not happen because the weather was so bad, but since we got here we’ve had very decent weather and number two son, Will, and I have swum every day. He has a triathlon wet suit, but I don’t think you really need one, if you were brought up in the North East and spent every half way summer Sunday at Saltburn. Although of course he swims faster and much further than me, and stays in the water longer. Yesterday I acted as (air) sea rescue, or maybe Baywatch. I was swimming and saw Phil waving at me, which slightly surprised me, but I waved back, and wondered why the people near him on the beach seemed to be staring so. I carried on swimming for quite a while, then eventually turned to come back into shore and saw something floating. Of course I swam over to investigate, and found a toy panda attached to a parachute. So then it all fell into place, and I towed it back in, much to the satisfaction of the little boy to whom it belonged, and much to the relief of the grandfather who had let go!

Going through - the first head is me, with Will catching up fast.

So today we went to Durdle Door, aiming for slack water at high tide, but it’s really quite windy, so the sea was really choppy. Going out was quite easy, but turning to go round the stack was quite hard; I think I made it harder for myself by giving the rocks an unnecessarily wide berth. Going through the arch itself was really hard work, with the waves apparently coming from all directions. Although I was swimming  hard, it was slow progress, almost all the way back to the beach. The really painful bit was getting out of the water onto the beach, as it’s shingle. I ended up flopping my way out on my tummy like an elephant seal.  But I did it, and I’m really pleased with myself.

The swimming team - Phil is excellent at handing a towel when I emerge from the water. 

Had a second swim in the next bay which was a little sheltered from the wind and had leisure to look down and see the kelp and red seaweed, extremely tall, 30 feet at least, and shaped like a juniper tree. I saw some small fish, too.

Also, as an extra source of happiness, I’ve been able to fly my new birthday present kite, and had all the fun of the company of the kids, their partners and the grandsons. What a wonderful time I’m having.