Meadfoot in the mist

For a couple of days now we've been enshrouded in mist. Kate and I went down to Meadfoot Beach in Torquay; we swam out around Triangle Rock, away from the posh hotel and the beach huts, and into the wilderness of Daddyhole or Thunder Hole as it's sometimes called. Our goal was West Shag - one of several little islands around there, which despite its name was inhabited by a solitary cormorant. As we swam we were surrounded by smokey greyness. We reached the island, clambering onto the edge and claiming it for the People's Republic of Swimming.

The nature trail

When I was little I wanted to be a Blue Peter presenter, and would walk around the fields near my home pointing out the things of interest to my imaginary audience. Today's swim was a bit like that, except the Val Singleton figure was my friend Sue who has an encylopaedic knowledge of our marine flora and fauna. We were swimming from Broadsands to Elberry in Paignton, where there is a bed of rare eel grass, home to sea horses. You swim alongside the crinkly coastline with its strange rocks like sculptures created by hippies on acid. As well as the delicate eel grass we saw breadcrumb sponge, sea lettuce, dulse, a starfish and sea potatoes (yes, sea potatoes). The latter are a type of furry urchin; there were lots of their shells on the seabed.

The secret swimming pool

It was a long-anticipated day. I was finally getting to meet one half of the "Scottish Swimming Lassies" (as I call them), whose blog is listed at the bottom of this page. They are called Charlotte and Iona, and Charlotte is a very old friend of my friend Anna. Anyway, she was down for a visit, and so we decided to take her on a magical mystery tour of.....Torquay. Well you can't get more of a contrast to the wild and woolly Argyll coast, looking out across the Sound of Jura, which is where she swims. The great thing about Torquay though is that just at the point when you are losing the will to live, having driven through endless suburbs, you reach the sea. Its coastline is hidden and magical, full of little coves and beaches with fantastical rock formations. We took Charlotte to Anstey's Cove, and her squeals of delight when she entered the water were a joy to hear. (no doubt it felt tropical in comparison to the water she's used to). Anyway, off we set towards the fairytale pinnacles of Long Quarry Point, and went to explore a cave I've been to before. I climbed through a gap in the rocks and couldn't believe my eyes - a perfect, hidden, secret swimming pool, complete with a skylight in the roof, through which the sun was beaming. It wasn't there on my last visit - it just shows how the tide transforms a place. I think the Scottish lassie brought us luck, let's hope she comes again!

Moody blues

Down near Prawle Point, we rounded a corner on the cliff path and were stopped in our tracks. A turquoise cove glowed before us, like a picture postcard of a scene on a Greek island. This is Elender Cove, tucked behind Gammon Head and so extremely sheltered, like a lagoon. As we approached the water from the clifftop the colour faded, but then once we were in it reappeared; we were immersed in blue. A kind of blue that stretches around you; an instant mood-enhancer, as was the salty freshness of the sea. We frolicked for quite some time.

Gentlemen bathers and nudist beaches

Today we swam from a Gentlemen's Bathing Place to a Naturist beach. Just how exciting can swimming get? We were at Oddicombe in Torquay. At the northern end of the beach is the area where the men used to swim in the days of segregated bathing. You can see the platform above and the staircase down to the water. Despite being a mostly female contingent we boldly swam off from the Gents' area, along the rocky coastline towards Petit Tor Point, where we found a spectacular cavern with extraordinary pink Dead Man's Fingers squished in among the crevices. We swam on, over a colony of starfish, until we got to Petit Tor Cove, Torquay's nudist beach. At this point, as they say, we made our excuses and left.

Brilliant Bugle

Might Spring be on the way? (I'm only asking - tentatively). As we walked along the coastpath the sun kissed our faces and we were actually quite hot by the time we arrived at Bugle Hole. It was a gift of a day for swimming there; there was hardly any wind so the water was calm and gleaming. At high tide there is a natural chain of swimming pools linked by snaking channels and gullies, which you can meander around and explore; there are caves too.

Sensational swimming

At Blackpool Sands, when the sea is calm, it drops away and into the oblivion of the horizon with an infinitesimal beauty. We arrived on a very cold, still, day. As we crunched down the beach and into the water, the shingle echoed and swirled. There is a big shelf and in we plunged, suddenly aware of the depth. We swam towards the southern side of the beach, past a hidden cove, and along a grey, smooth flank of rock. Looking up we could see grand houses at the top of the cliff, and a path leading down, which seemed to end in the rocks above us. We climbed up to have a look and found two hidden tidal pools. There was a tiny rectangular one, which looked like a paddling pool, and a much bigger one, where most of the wall had fallen away. It had metal bars in the wall, including one at the top, where lots of old rope had become entangled. In its heyday it must have been spectacular; you could sit in it high above the sea and look all the way down the coast to Start Point. Thanks to Geoffrey Harcombe for the rock-exploring pictures.

The battle of Berry Head

Berry Head is tremendous natural look-out. There are the remains of a Napoleonic fort there. The cliffs around are craggy and really quite high, as we found when we tried to get down and swim in the tempting petrol-blue sea below. There were vertiginous drops, and in the end we walked down past the old quarry to where people fish. We changed and climbed down a much smaller drop, plunging into the gently swelling water. Swimming along we spotted a cave which, it turned out, was actually an archway. There were many fissures in the rocks and the noise of the sea was very strange indeed as it echoed through them; it sounded as though it was growling. Perhaps there really are sea monsters who make their homes in hidden caverns.

(Nearly) 99 red balloons

In honour of a trio of birthdays - Kari, Steph and Clare - a madcap plan was hatched to swim around Burgh Island in truly celebratory style, each swimmer attached to a red balloon. As we arrived we could see an excited group below the Pilchard Inn, some already clutching balloons, while Jonathan manhandled a helium cylinder, filling the rest. The sea was flat calm and gorgeous, with the sun rippling across it. There must have been about twenty of us who swam round; it was sheer pleasure all the way. Some of the highlights; being able to swim in and out of the maze of gullies at the back of the island; marvelling at the pink and purple rocks and seaweed below us; the silhouettes of the cormorants and gulls; the incredible visibility of the water; and the sky turning pink as we swam.

Hangover cure at Hope

Because I'm always after still waters for swimming and exploring, I sometimes forget what fun a few big waves can be. Today we had a spectacular walk at Bolt Tail, a massive lump of a headland which juts out into the sea with enormous views all down the coast. On the way back I stopped for a swim at Hope Cove, where the surf was rocking. Walking into the sea I was pushed and pulled by the force of the water, before being wiped out by a particularly big wave. I then started to go head-first into each roller. What a blast! I spent quite some time playing like this before getting my bodyboard and doing a bit of surfing.