The Run Up To Windermere - Horseshoe Lake

“Swimming is simply moving meditation.” ― Cesar Nikko Caharian

7th August 2019

I was looking for somewhere new to swim. I had heard about Horseshoe Lake which is near Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where the British Army produce their world-class officers. 

Swimming in a new location makes me a bit nervous. Will it be suitable for me to swim there? Will they actually let me swim there? Will my stuff get stolen? To make it easier for myself I get changed as close to the water as I can. 

As I arrived there didn’t seem to be any disabled parking bays, so I had to make my own. I checked out the lake, it seemed easy enough for me to get in the water, so I headed off to pay my swimming fee. The staff were so helpful, while I filled in their form they briefed me on what I needed to do and how they could help me. In fact, they brought out a chair for me to sit on near the waterline. 

Horseshoe Lake has three loops a 200 metre, 400 metres and an 800-metre circuit. As I got changed on the floor I was checking out where I was going and any markers which I needed to look out for on the way round. I took my time getting ready, there is no point rushing as I’ll forget to do something important. 

I followed some other swimmers into the water, naturally, I choose the longer route, what’s the point in getting in for a short ten-minute paddle? 

Horseshoe Lake has a little island shaped like, yes you guessed it, a horseshoe. To be fair I only knew that because I checked it out on google maps. As I swam passed the island it got real shallow, the trick was to stay as close to the marker buys as possible. 

One of the bonuses which makes outdoors swimming so satisfying is the wildlife. When I’m out on the water I try to spot interesting birds above the water and what may be lurking below the waterline. Today was no different, as I turned my head to breath I saw a Greater Crested Grebe ducking into the water. Later I would see him pop back up again in a different part of the water. Ornithology, bird watching, was a pass time which helped early on my recovery. It was easy for me to get in my wheelchair or walk short distances on my new prosthetic legs with a camera and a bird book. Bird watching got me outside in the fresh air.

Swimming Horseshoe Lake was fantastic, it was a real pleasure swimming there. As I finished my swim I calculated what distance I had covered, for some reason my watch always gives me more distance. I dislike ‘cheating’ so I always edit my distance post-swim. 

As I started getting myself sorted out, I noticed two things. Firstly, I spotted another bird which I hadn’t seen before, after looking it up it turned out to be a juvenile Egyptian Goose. Another species to tick off. Secondly, I realised that I had left my towel in my van. Fortunately, I managed to convince some swimmers who had run down for a dip to grab it for me. See I told you us open water swimmers were a sociable bunch. 

I packed my stuff away, got my legs on and then hauled my chair back up to the site shop. I had a brief chat with the staff, they mentioned another swimmer who pops down to take a plunge who only has one leg. The ‘Headley Court’ banter which got the better of me. I said, ‘I wouldn’t get out of bed for a little tickle like that’. The women behind the counter was mortified. 

However, that’s how it was at Headley, the banter was relentless I think it normalised what was some pretty extreme situations.