The December swim - Waldegrave Pool, Somerset

As I was nearing the end of my swim challenge, I decided to up the ante a little and agreed to do the last swim of this challenge without a wetsuit on. I swiftly and easily passed the £500 target. In a moment of madness, I told everyone that if I got to £750, I would do the last swim naked, wearing a pink afro and with holly leaves painted on my bottom. My friends clearly like to make me suffer, and again I sailed past the target.

On a cold, dark, Boxing Day morning, we jumped in the car at 7:45am while most people would have been sleeping off the excesses of Christmas Day, and headed up onto the Mendips to Waldegrave Pool. It felt right to be completing this challenge a year to the day when the seed of the idea for it was planted. We watched the sun rise pink over the hills, and I felt a certain sense of trepidation and excitement. More trepidation as the temperature monitor on the car refused to rise above 2 degrees.

We arrived at the swim spot, and it was totally beautiful. The water was so flat calm it looked like a sheet of glass. Cold? I don't know the exact temperature. But there was a thin layer of ice on the edge. We picked an easy spot to get in, but I was glad that it was quiet, as any car driving past could have had a great view! I waited for one car to go past, and then went for it. I had to get straight in, I knew that. Any hesitation and I would bottle it for sure. So, I got straight in and dunked up to my neck. The cold was shocking, like lots of tiny knives going into my skin. I managed about half a minute in, and then had to get out. As I stood there with my dressing gown wrapped round and the cold making my skin tingle, I felt a bit of a fraud at the short amount of time I had been in the water for. So, I dropped the robe again, and went back for a second dip! It was a little easier this time, I even managed a bit of a swim. When I got out, I nipped at my celebratory post swim dram of whisky, and felt totally exhilarated. I have a confession... I didn't paint the holly leaves on my bottom, as I found out I didn't have any green face paint. Will you forgive me?!

I have had such an amazing time completing this challenge, its cemented my love of open water swimming and I have found some really beautiful new places to swim. I can't wait for 2015 to find more lovely places to swim, although I am looking forward to getting my wetsuit back on. Above anything else, I am totally overwhelmed at the generosity of friends and some complete strangers who gave up their hard earned cash to sponsor me. As it stands at the time of writing this blog entry, I have reached £1005 in sponsorship. This is so amazing, I couldn't be happier. A HUGE thank you goes to my man who has supported me throughout, driven me to all the swims and looked after the kids as I have swum. I love the fact that my two year old now says "Look! Mummy swimming pool!" whenever we drive past a river, lake or the sea. I hope they inherit my love of open water swimming, and what a brilliant year its been.

The Lake, Trench Lane, Winterbourne, Bristol - The November swim

Today I was full of cold. And coughing. And generally quite ill. So its fair to say I wasn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of a open water swim at the end of November. My Mother said I was mad to do it. But fail the challenge? Never!

We phoned ahead to the Bristol Triathlon Centre, essentially a massive lake that had been dug out many years ago by the owner Mike (otherwise known as 'Mad Mike) As we arrived and the sense of trepidation grew slightly, our friends Sam and Mark arrived with their lovely 2 year old twin boys to cheer me on, and all sense of fear went out the window The lake was deserted, we were met by Mike, and it turns out he had come down to open up specially for me. Eccentric, extremely Bristolian, far too interested in the fact that I was possibly going to have to do my last swim naked if I exceeded my target, I liked 74 year old Mike immediately.

As the children looked on, I waded on it to the 7 degree water as quickly as I could. And it was wonderful! Cold, clean, easy swimming. Despite my cold, I managed a 20 minute swim. But its safe to say, I was glad that Mike and all the kids started feeding the fish on the way out rather than I was getting in or I might have lost my nerve They were WHOPPERS!

River Usk, Monmouthshire - The October swim

Without a doubt, my least favourite swim! Hormonal, miserable, not in the mood, I set off to throw myself in a freezing Welsh river. Those delightful summer swims seemed a long time ago. We arrived at the spot where I was meant to go in, only to be surrounded by fishermen. And I bottled it.

Sulking in the car, my challenge had seemingly hit the skids. This was the last weekend I had free, and it was seemingly impossible. Thankfully, David saved the day. Telling me he was driving home, he was actually taking a longer route home along the river for another spot to get in. And luckily he found one. It was a tricky scramble in, too strong a current for a proper swim, and a miserable cold struggle back into my clothes afterwards. But a reminder that this WAS a challenge. And challenges are not meant to be easy. A bacon sandwich healed a bit of the pain afterwards, but I felt ill for the rest of the day.

I wasn't demoralised completely as I had done it, but was left worrying whether the November swim would be even harder...

Llyn Dinas, Snowdonia - The September swim

If I had to be pushed for a favourite swim so far, this would probably be it. Firstly, it took place on my birthday. Secondly, I was surrounded by friends. And thirdly? The setting was spectacular. Absolutely, totally and utterly beautiful. I will let the pictures here speak for themselves...

Not Quite a UK county. Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Heads, New South Wales, Australia - The August Swim

In August, we were lucky enough to be invited to a family wedding over in Australia. OK, so the rules of the challenge were that it was meant to be a different county in the UK each month, but the opportunity to do the swim in another COUNTRY was too hard to resist.

I thought finding a spot over in Oz would be a doddle. Not so. Sea swims were out wherever we went as the sea was so rough. Good for surfing, not swimming. And, if the red and yellow flags are not up, then swimming is pretty risky, especially if you don't know the area. Towards the end of the trip, I was getting worried I would not find a decent spot that either a) was not going to cause me to drown or b) would not contain creatures that were likely to kill me. Then we landed in Lennox Heads. We had heard about Lake Ainsworth, a lake stained brown by the tea trees surrounding it. And when we arrived it was idyllic. The day of the swim was a beautiful, warm, blue sky day. Of course, the beach was deserted, as despite feeling like an English summer day to us, the Ozzies were in the midst of winter.

I loved this swim, the water was so clear despite its brown colour. It was like swimming in really cold tea, quite a strange yet lovely experience.

Warleigh Weir - Bath and North East Somerset - The July swim

Warleigh Weir was a local swim spot I had been meaning to swim at for ages, but had always been slightly put off due to reports that it is always super busy, especially in the summer months. But, as I was searching for a swim spot in the BANES area, this seemed like the ideal time to head there and try it out.

This was another day of being accompanied by friends, and I was joined in the water this time by our new friend Rik. As predicted, the spot was busy, but we managed to arrive early enough so that it was not packed with people. I LOVED it here, I really like river swims, they seem so peaceful compared to being tossed around in the sea. (Although sea swimming will always remain my favourite type of swim.) As I swam a few hundred feet down the river, I felt like I was the only person around for miles as the noise of all the people disappeared with my distance. And the thing that pleased me the most about this swim? I was also joined in the water by Ruby. The water was pretty cold so I admired her lack of complaints. She is only just 5 and can't yet swim without armbands so hers was just a dip, but I felt so glad to be showing her how great open water dips can feel, and I really hope she (and her 1 year old sister) is inspired to keep on dunking in the water with me as she grows older.

Talland Bay, Cornwall - The June swim

I decided to combine the June swim with a weekend away with friends camping in Cornwall. Staying just outside of Looe, we discovered a little place called Talland Bay which seemed perfect to do the swim.

The day arrived grey, and the swim was tricky. Ankle deep mud needed to trudged through to get in, and it was not my most dignified entrance! But it was also the first swim I was joined by a friend, as Leanne got in with me. Fully clothed!

Ringstead Bay, Dorset - The May Swim

Up until now, the swims have been pretty challenging. Either hard to find, freezing cold, scuppered by puking children, or completed on grey and miserable days. The May swim? Frankly, this made me fraudulent as it was very far removed from a challenge! We were blessed with beautiful blue skies as we headed down to the beach as early as we could. When we arrived, I just could not get over the colour of the sea. So blue! And with so few people about and a feeling of isolation, I decided that this was my first chance in the challenge for a sneaky skinny dip.

Oh how I loved this swim! Sea was not cold, gentle waves, beautiful blues. I totally fell in love with sea swimming all over again and was reminded of the reasons I wanted to keep swimming all year round. And I fell head over heels in love with Dorset. A world away from the muddy, brown water in my home town.

Stackpole Quay, Pembrokeshire - The April Swim

Daves Uncle John had been asking us for ages to come and visit, so it seemed sensible to combine a visit to the family with completing the April swim. So, at Johns recommendation, we headed down to Stackpole Quay, a lovely little harbour looked after by The National Trust. It was a rainy, grey day, but this seemed to make it easier to get in. I had a really lovely swim here, the current was minimal and waves small so I was able to explore the bay with little trouble, and swam for about half an hour. And at all times I could hear Ruby, and her increasingly familiar chant of "Muuu-meee! Muuuu-MEE!", cheering me on as I swam. I had the beach to myself for the duration of the swim, and just as I got out, some local kids came along and started throwing themselves off the jetty into the water a had only just got out from. Stackpole? I will be back!

Asham Quarry, Somerset - The March Swim

The swim at Asham Quarry had been one I had discovered whilst searching on the Outdoor Swimming Society online map. We arrived with a vague idea of where this hidden pool was, but in the dry, dusty and today relatively warm day we wondered for ages and felt like we were never going to find it. Add to that the sound of live bullets being fired from a range somewhere nearby, this was quite a disconcerting exploration. Then we stumbled upon it. It was quite a surreal site, lots of tree stumps growing up from the water, and hard to get into. But once in, it was a gorgeous swim, even if I felt like the last person alive after the apocalypse had occurred.

Flooding and gales? - The February Swim

So, everyone said that the next swim would be much easier. Maybe they didn't know that February is just as cold as January. But nobody could have predicted how bad the weather would be in February. The UK was hit by unprecedented levels of widespread, persistent flooding, coastal damage and gale force winds. The conditions for most of February meant that a swim in some of the places I had in mind would have been madness, and more than a little dangerous. I was beginning to wonder whether I would manage to do the challenge at all this month.

However, as with last month, my window came very near the end of it again. We had a free weekend, I checked the tide times and they were perfect and the sun was even promising to shine. So, it was decided then. Devon would be the county for this swim. No real flooding problems, unlike Dorset where I had been planning to go.

We jumped in the car first thing, destination Beer, a lovely little seaside town I knew well. But when we arrived, I am ashamed to say I bottled it. Loads of fishermen and teenagers (not together!) and I was overcome with self conciousness. I was determined not to give up, mainly because the gales and rain were due back on Sunday. So, I consulted the Outdoor Swimming Society map and found this beach not too far away. Ladram Bay can only be accessed through the Ladram Bay Holiday Park, and is a hidden gem. No doubt it is packed in the summer months, but today it was deserted while I was there and so no need for being self concious this time! The scenery was dramatic, with sandstone stacks that had an air of the Grand Canyon about them, albeit on a tiny scale. Sadly the waves were too strong for me to swim right round them, and also I think I have some work to do on building up my strength when in comes to swimming in open water. But I really enjoyed this swim, the wetsuit combined with my new wetsuit socks and gloves meant that getting into the water was a breeze. I also had no choice about being quickly submerged as the pebbles quickly dropped off, so a couple of strides and you were in.

On my way back up the path to where we were parked, I met a couple of older ladies on their way down to the beach. Spotting their towels, I guessed they were going for a swim too, so I said hello and told them the water was lovely. They told me they regularly swam here, and had completed 3 swims here in January. AND they just had swimming costumes and rash vests. I was inspired by them. I hope I am still swimming in open water when I am in my seventies. I watched them from the cliff top, as they donned their swim hats and had a little dip. They ROCKED!

January swim - The challenge begins

On Friday the 24th January, I meticulously packed my bag for the first swim of the challenge. The month had run away from me, and I realised that soon I would run out of month, so it was time to get a move on and do the swim. So I packed my wetsuit, swim shoes, towels, base layer and other warm clothes for afterwards, good socks and a hip flask of good whisky, and went to bed with trepidation in my belly. We awoke early on Saturday (nothing new there, I am mother to a 16 month old and a 4 year old who do not differentiate week and weekend) and we headed off in the car, destination Coombe Martin beach in North Devon. Half way to our destination? My eldest threw up in the car. All over my towels. With one hour to go to the destination, we decided the best thing to do was to abandon the plan, and head home. I was GUTTED, and beginning to be very worried that the challenge was in jeopardy before it had even begun. The weather for the next day was looking awful, and yet the conditions for the Saturday had been perfect. I spent a great deal of the evening searching for more local swimming spots, so we wouldn't have to drag our poorly offspring too far just so their Mummy could fling themselves in cold water. And then I settled upon the perfect spot. I live in Weston-super-Mare, and Clevedon is a sleepier version of my home, just 20 minutes away down the M5. After looking on the website of the Outdoor Swimming Society and their extensive map, I stumbled on a listing for a a tidal pool, right on the seafront. I have lived in Weston many years and visited Clevedon frequently, yet I never knew this existed! I didn't really want to use up my North Somerset swim so early on, but as the challenge at risk, I decided this venue was perfect. So today, we set out at 9 in the morning, and headed off down the motorway. I had butterflies in my belly but was determined I would do it. We parked up, and the rain that had been falling on us all the way there seemed to get heavier. Hell, I was about to get wet and my family had a massive brolly, so it seemed unimportant! I strode to the pool with a purpose and a determination not to back out. The water looked relatively inviting, so I went for it. No point hesitating, that just would make it harder. The water was FREEZING, easily as cold as my Boxing day swim, but at least there was no current to nearly sweep me away. I managed to stay in for around 5 minutes, but my hands were so cold that it was impossible to stay in longer. I really thought that hand and feet protection were not that important, but I know now that proper gloves and wetsuit socks are essential. My wetsuit proved worth the money, as it kept me relatively dry and warm.

The whisky was much needed! My favourite part of this swim was hearing my eldest daughter shouting "Go Mummy! You can do it!" throughout the swim. And then when I was in my hot bath on return home, she came up and presented me with this.