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The quiet river pools and gentle waterfalls near home offer North Wales-based swimmer Hollie Harmsworth everything she needs. No grand adventures or epic journeys - just a moment to sit and to listen to the steady flow of the water
Making it through the winter as a swimmer is always a challenge. Every year, I romanticise it—imagining cold, frosty mornings, lakes like glass, and skies painted in pastel pinks and orange hues. In reality, those moments are rare. More often, it’s bleak with rain drenching everything, frantic changes in and out of swimming costumes, a quick hit of cold, and then it’s over. While I do love all the madness winter swimming brings, I soon find myself looking forward to the changing of seasons.
Swimming in spring is a different kind of joy. That’s when you start to notice the days growing longer and the sun lingering higher in the sky, carrying with it the promise of warmth and new life. It fills you with a fresh energy and excitement for the days to come.
For some reason, at this time of year I find myself drawn to smaller bodies of water. The quiet river pools and gentle waterfalls near my home offer everything I need—no grand adventures, or epic journeys—just a moment to sit and to listen to the steady flow of the water. Here I can notice the small things that are easy to miss in everyday life. The fresh green buds unfurling on the trees, bracken fiddleheads emerging along the riverbanks, and birdsong growing ever more intricate and varied with the season.
There is less of a rush this time of year, and more time to spend at the river or lakeside with friends before and after swims. We don’t need to hurry back to the warmth of cars or cosy cafes quite as quickly. However, hot drinks and warm layers remain an important part of the outing and essential bits of kit, along with the neoprene gloves and socks!
The water will still be carrying the chilly temperatures of winter, and a bright spring day can easily deceive you into thinking it’s going to be a lot warmer. After staring into crystal-clear pools glistening in the sunlight, the shock of your first step in can feel especially jarring. But after months of winter dips, your body is ready and knows its limits. If a quick dip is all I need then that is all I need… Maybe a head dunk too.
Spring swims are brief. But like the days ahead, they will gradually grow longer.
One of my favourite spots this time of year is Rhaeadr Ddu in Coed Felenrhyd.
The pool here is quite big which makes it an ideal place for a swim. However it's the walk to the falls that makes this place so special. The woodland here is known as temperate or Celtic rainforest and is one of only a few in Wales. It's a deep, lush, damp woodland, rich in ferns, lichens and mosses. A place you could explore for hours but it's important you tread lightly to not disturb or damage the rare flora and fauna. Surrounded by some of our oldest native trees, as swim spots go it's pretty magical.