Wind and waves

Driving rain and howling wind didn't put us off our swim at Wonwell on the Erme estuary. In fact, on a day like that, why not get as wet and wild as possible? There were loads of windsurfers out- I've never seen so many in this little river mouth. We swam up river with the tide; when we turned round to come back we were hit by an assault of rain and waves in our faces...swimming was just too much like hard work so we waded back. Afterwards we had a jolly time getting warm in a friend's hot tub.

Doing the pools

The River Erme at Ivybridge has a series of pools and rapids. There is something for everyone. You can do your lengths in the pools, snorkel and watch the mercurial trout, or take the kamikaze route, canyoning down the waterfalls and chutes. The pools have rather romantic names, including Trinnaman's, Zulu and Head Weir. Today we swam at Trinnaman's, which is fed by a wonderful little waterfall. I was just in a swimsuit, and although the water was cold, it felt beautifully cleansing and refreshing.

Wet and wild

As the snow started to melt, the rain started to fall, and there was water everywhere. So what better than to get down and dirty with it in the churning depths of the River Erme? We trudged off along the road and through the woods feeling ever so slightly silly in our wetsuits, but in fact they were the most sensible things to be wearing, given the amount of rain. The river was totally alive. Waterfalls had appeared out of nowhere and were thundering into the pools. The river was tumbling over itself in its race onwards. We swam in one of the larger pools, which is normally tranquil. Not today.