The Run Up to Windermere: Heron Lake

“The water doesn't know how old you are.” ― Dara Torres

Written 5th August 2019

I have swum at Heron Lake for many years. This lake was, is, an important part of my continued rehabilitation. Today I managed to convince the whole family to join me in the water.It wasn’t the perfect day, it was a little overcast, warm(ish) with a little wind. I popped out earlier to buy Leo, our middle child, a wet suit. It may not have been the best or thickest wetsuit, but it was all I could get at short notice. This may comeback to bite me in the behind later on in the day.

The family had been spread out that morning, eventually everyone returned home. We got all the kit we would require for our swimming adventure. As every parent will know the amount of ’stuff’ required for an afternoon excursion out with the family doesn’t bare thinking about. Double that load when trying a new challenge, we would need a trailer and a support team. 

Heron Lake isn’t close to our home, we would have to travel an hour up the M3 to get there, I was desperate to share this with my family. Off we went.

When we arrived Marisa, my wife, got the kids ready while I got myself sorted on the floor near the water. Initially, our youngest Emilia didn’t like the feeling of her wetsuit around her neck. At the time of writing this she was three years old, so I couldn’t blame her for being concerned. We managed to quickly distract her whilst at the same time getting her in the water. Emilia loved it, as did my eldest daughter Sophia who is eight. They were both super brave, I was so happy to share this experience with them. Leo seemed to enjoy this new experience, but soon got bored or cold, maybe the wetsuit had something to do with this, I’m not sure.

As I played with them all, Marisa dashed off to get herself changed. Luckily, Heron Lake has a big slide, to a young kid it may look a bit daunting. However, all three got amongst it, going up and down like a trio of yo-yo’s. That slide ended up being a real winner.

Marisa soon can back out in her new wetsuit, which meant I could crack out a few loops of the lake. Heron has a two loops to choose from a short 400 metre loop and a longer 1000 metre circuit. I set off conscious that I was leaving Marisa to sort out the kids, after each loop I checked in with the tribe and with Marisa. They seemed content so I went off again, as I came in for my second loop the kids were getting bored and a little cold. I wanted Marisa to swim, but I think she wanted to swim with me. That was never going to be possible with the kids there, maybe next time.

Today was a real home win for me. I hope it is the start of something more regular, that the kids get the outdoors swimming bug and that the weather is a little bit nicer the next time.