The run along the seafront turned from a jog to a sprint as the grey-black wall of cloud rose higher above the hillside, blotting out the blue sky. I reached the van with seconds to spare. The wind hit first rocking the van, snapping back the branches on the tree and sending clouds of leaves whirling along the road. Then the rain hit and the rear windows blurred with water and in moments streams cascaded down the windscreen. Hmm, this needs rethinking, but already blue sky was chasing the trailing edge of the cloud.
10 minutes later and a different roadside and there’s more blue sky and a watery sun behind suffused cloud, whilst meanwhile across the bay the sea is a dark shade of green crested with breaking waves and the black clouds continue to throw down rain in grey sheets that blot out the horizon.
The beach here is in the shelter of the cliff and as I kick off my shoes the sunshine lights the small waves breaking amongst the seaweed matted rocks. Another wave swirls in and the sunlight pulses brighter in synchronicity to the ebb and flow. But the sun is already sliding behind the hill and the line of light ends abruptly where the waves break.
Click for full size 
Click for full size
Insert the name of your chosen deity here! that’s cold! I think I am the only swimmer on social media who is not doing a Dip a Day December, not doing the Polar Bear Challenge and not doing the 12kms of Christmas, so why am I doing this? Ahhh, because of things like that, a full rainbow climbs across the sky and then the leading seaward end dives down to the horizon, all of it bright lit against the dark cloud.
I have stopped paying attention to the cold, but as the display fades I become acutely aware that I am now quite a long way from my towel and properly cold.
And it’s another 2 months until the sea temperature reaches its annual minimum.
Wild Swimming Map: Devon & Cornwall
