Swimmers are happy to feel chills of the open air

It feels so good when you’ve done it,” said a shivering Peter Rosenberg. “But it’s tough.”

Hathersage Swimming Pool at 9am on a frosty Sunday morning in January. Air temperature 0 degrees, pool temperature 9 degrees.

“It’s a bit chilly,” agreed Jack Young.

The pool normally closes for public sessions in January and February but this year, for the first time in its 82 year history, staff will open to the public from 9am to 1pm every Saturday and Sunday up to February 25. The water will be around 10 degrees, an easy temperature to maintain in the chillier months, said pool assistant manager George Foy.

“We’re getting around 30-40 people every session which is a little more than we expected, and I think it’s because of a definite increase in interest in outdoor and cold water swimming.”

Lifeguard and local resident Rachael Philips tried to explain. “You feel quite tingly and invigorated,” she said. “It makes you feel alive, and when the sun comes out onto the water it’s just beautiful. It’s heaven,” concluded the invigorated lifeguard on her way out for a hot drink.

A series of swimmers in wetsuits, trunks or swimming costumes negotiated the ice on the pool side before gingerly lowering themselves in.

George’s professional advice for cold water swimming is to always get in slowly, keep your head warm with a decent cap, and maybe invest in some neoprene gloves and socks to keep your hands and feet warm too. “You should also know when to stop - if you start to feel really cold it’s time to get out,” he said.

Hannah Atkin and Lucy Harper say a community of outdoor swimmers is building at Hathersage, part of a general boom in the sport which sees swimmers officially (and unofficially) taking to local rivers and reservoirs at all times of year.

“I swim in an indoor pool as well, but I’d say the comparison between indoor and outdoor swimming is like running on a treadmill versus running through beautiful scenery,” said Hannah.

“Swimming in a 1930s lido surrounded by the Peak District is something quite exceptional,” said Lucy. “Looking up and seeing gritstone edges while swimming, there’s something magical about the whole thing. I can’t think of anything nicer,” she added.

Lucy made a resolution last year that every time she saw a beautiful stretch of water, she’d go back and swim it. “There are some beautiful places to swim around the Outdoor City,” she said. “There’s now a new wave of people getting into open water swimming.”

Lucy has also taken up night swimming. “It’s magical by moonlight,” she said.

The ‘it makes you feel alive’ attraction kept coming up after the Hathersage swimmers surfaced and their teeth stopped chattering enough to talk.

“It’s liberating, and euphoric, but it is a shock to the system,” said Hannah Atkin. “The biggest thing is the brain freeze. When you put your head under water it’s like when you eat really really cold ice cream, but more intense. And I was surprised how I got out of breath. I can normally swim up and down for 90 minutes indoors, but I was out of breath after one length. I tried to use meditation to think warm.”

Several euphoric swimmers talked about the mental health benefits, presumably once your brain has unfrozen.

“You’re completely in the moment. You can’t do anything other than focus on surviving in the water,” said Lucy.

“A friend once told me there’s sport swimming and romantic swimming, and I didn’t know what he meant until I started swimming here and around northern Sheffield. I don’t swim here to keep fit or lose weight, I do it for the experience.”

In the refurbished verandah, channel swimmer Wendy Figures was packing away after starting her session with Yorkshire Outdoor Swimmers well before the latecomers at 9am.

“When you do an ice mile, you can’t wear a wet suit and the temperature has to be below 5 degrees,” she said. “So for a competition, it’s actually too warm here.”