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.