Over the past couple years we’ve seen the rise in popularity of wild-swimming 🌊 not just within our Stay Wild community, but across the globe 🌍 With the numerous mental and physical benefits it creates, we’re not surprised at how many people are starting to get into it 💙🙌 We want to use this space and our platform to share some of the incredible stories of our outdoor community in a visual series we are calling ‘Why We Swim’ 💙🌊 It will share some of the reasons how and why our community got into wild-swimming, in the hope it may encourage more of you to do so, or just provide you with inspiration to get outdoors and soak up Mother Nature 🌍 To kick off the series, we met up with Tess and Jenny. The mother and daughter duo who we got introduced to through our original open casting call back in 2019! 🥰🫶 WHY WE SWIM - Tess and Jenny “We grew up next to a river and from the moment we could walk we were in the river all day long. My mum taught us to swim from an early age and then when we moved to Wales she often took us to play in all the amazing lakes, rivers and beaches near us. That instilled in me a lifelong love of water and swimming. I love the feeling of freedom the water gives me. As I get older wild swimming has helped me mentally, socially and kept me healthy! It gives me a sense of freedom, washes away all the stresses of life and brings a sense of calm in this crazy world!” said Tess “At the beginning of covid a group of us “ladies of a certain age” who had been meeting regularly for swimming sessions in the pool (followed by coffee and chat in the cafe!) decided that we had to take to the sea when swimming pools were shut down!! We embraced the challenge, some donning wetsuits and some just in costumes and with hot water bottles and hot drinks for after. We kept the essence of a mix of exercise and social chat alive. We all feel fitter, stronger healthier despite the onset of age and some medical conditions. We have no intention of reverting to the swimming pool ever again!!!” said Jenny