2016 was a tough year for Lou Park. In November, the Morecambe resident underwent ankle surgery, which included a calcaneal dwyer osteotomy and lateral ligament reconstruction. For 12-weeks post surgery she was unable to bear weight on her leg.

“I had some complications and was struggling to walk as I’d lost most of the movement in my ankle,” explained Lou. “I started to pile weight on and was feeling pretty low, so a friend suggested I join an aqua fit class to see if that helped. The instructor helped me realise that I could do things again and that my ankle didn’t have to stop me.”

Lou then started pool swimming with her daughter:

“My daughter was only six at the time so I assumed that swimming couldn’t be that hard, but I was so wrong,” says Lou. “I built my strength up and started swimming everyday to help with my mobility. The following year I had my first taste of wild swimming; my daughter had signed up to do a guided session in Lake Windermere. The organiser asked if I wanted to go in the water, too, and I accepted. It was incredible.”

Up until December 2018, Lou admits that she couldn’t swim front crawl, an essential stroke for a wild swimmer. She was what seasoned swimmers would nickname a ‘granny swimmer.’

“I could only swim breaststroke — and not very fast — with my head above the water,” she reflects. “My daughter helped me with my technique, and I signed up for swimming lessons to try and perfect my front crawl. The swim teacher, Ceri, was a friend so that made it a little easier to get in the water with strangers. At the time, I was over 18 stone and was uncomfortable with my size. But by New Year, I had completed 10 lessons in total and had also set myself a goal of losing three stone by the end of the year so I could fit into a wetsuit and finally go wild swimming.”

Lou pictured with fellow wild swimmers at Capernwray dive centre

Lou’s love for wild water swimming commenced when she received a call from Ceri who asked if she’d like to attend an introduction to open water. While she was nervous, Lou dived in:

“I thought that if I don’t do it now, when will I,” she said. “I quickly got my stuff together, jumped in the car and set off to Capernwray dive centre. Capernwray has become my happy place; I feel alive and all my pains, worries and stresses just disappear.”

Lou entered her first open water EPIC event a few months later held at Derwent water. Lou’s aim was to swim in the 3.8k.

“I only had two weeks to prepare and I’d never swam in a lake before,” said Lou. “But the seed was planted so I had to do it. Ceri came to the rescue and took me to Derwent Water. This was my first experience of skin swimming. I swam two miles and loved it. Once I got home I signed up to do the 3.8k the following Sunday.”

As the months passed Lou fell in love with the lakes. By the end of winter she’d surpassed her weight loss goal, hitting a six stone loss.

Lou (right) with Tash and her daughter, Zara, at Coniston in 2020

“When Covid hit and the world closed down I still needed to swim to aid my mobility as well as my mental health, more so now than ever as I was working in a hospital during the pandemic. My ankle injury had resurfaced so to help with the pain I took to swimming in the sea, with a friend I’d met through the M.A.L.L.O.W.S (Morecambe and Lancaster Lancashire Open Water Swimmers) social media group. Once in the water I felt an instant relief.”

When restrictions were lifted Lou started swimming with a friend, Tash, who had also recently picked up the sport. The pair were of similar ability and made the perfect swim buddies:

“I don’t know what I would do without her now, we’re just perfect together in the water,” said Lou.

At the start of 2021 Lou set herself a new challenge; to swim all the lakes in the Lake District end to end.

“I started researching the lakes; the length, width, depth as well as the entry and exit points, and what support we would need on and off the water.

“To date, I have swam in Buttermere, Loweswater and Crummock Water, and Tash has joined me in Grasmere and Rydal Water. I am hopefully swimming the other lakes before the summer is out, apart from Windermere which I will aim to complete next year. When we move on to the larger lakes we will need help from friends and family on the water to provide refreshments. We couldn’t do it without the support of our long-suffering partners — and team taxi drivers — Paul and Matteo.

“Training for this challenge includes three or four swims a week in the river, sea or at Capernwray, swimming at least a mile each time. Tash and I will also be entering the EPIC open water events this summer, completing a range of distances from 3.8k to 5k.

“My advice for anyone looking to start wild swimming is to do your research, join a local group and take an introduction course. Wait until the warmer summer months and give it a go in skins first to see if you like it before buying the expensive kit. There are plenty of groups on Facebook with lots of information and some very knowledgeable people. There will always be someone that knows the answer and will be willing to help.”

KEEP UP WITH LOU’S PROGRESS

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