The road winds along, free of the usual traffic and Lake Windermere comes in to view. Always my favourite stretch of this particular road, where I get my first glimpse to see if the water is rippling with waves and wind, or so still that it looks like a sheet of glass with the colours of the moored boats reflecting across the surface. Today I am greeted not only with a calm, clear view, but also the peak of a snowed capped mountain in the distance, telling me that this morning’s activity is going to be a tad frosty.

Mornings like this feel like you’re cheating, when you drive up the narrow paths of the fells and in to a car park already high up and very close to your destination, but then I remind myself, that not every visit to the Lakes has to be a massive hike, or some adrenalin fuelled challenge. Sometimes, just a short stroll, in a beautiful landscape, to reset the mind and get the still legs out from under a desk, is all that is needed.

Blea Tarn is one of those cheat scenarios and a new place for us to explore, which is the theme to a resolution for the new year. In a few weeks time, we will have lived in Cumbria for six years and have only seen a tiny percentage of it. I stand on a tree stump just outside the carpark, pulling my bobble hat down and seeing my frosty breath leave my mouth as I breathe deeply, smile, and hope this is one resolution I actually stick to.

Surrounded by the stunning peaks of the Langdales, the small tarn ahead is like a puddle compared to so many vast waters in the county, but that doesn’t mean it is to be underestimated. As we watch the dog charge excitedly down, what is a new path for her, we have already decided we will swim first, walk afterwards. Whilst Damian is talking about the practical aspect, that he has quite rightly researched, of the best place to get in to the water, I am scanning the water’s perimeter for the patches of light and sun to feed the happy place inside my head. I know we are getting in at the south point which is in the shade, so I have already found the patch of land where we will head to once dry, to have coffee in the warmth of the low winter sun.

As we enter the water separately, I smile at the fact that Damian has his neoprene socks at the ready, because it is of course going to be single digit temperature in the tarn, because it is January and it is a place we have not swam before, so we don’t know what will be underfoot. I am resolute in that I want my bare feet to be taking in the energy of the earth as I walk in and the feel of the water as I swim. On this particular morning, I should have put my swim gloves on, because the four degrees that the thermometer says the water is, means that despite my core being okay because I am acclimatised, my fingers were not co-operating fully when getting dressed a short while later.

The water bed is rocky and my toes and soles of my feet navigate the smooth from the more pointed edges of the stones below until it is just easier for me to sink my shoulders in and swim. Making sure I can breath smoothly before I get out of my depth, the sweet spot to any swim is when the sun hits your shoulders and the view ahead simply clears your mind of everything except for the gratitude that you have the health and opportunity to do such a glorious thing in such stunning surroundings. Happiness fills my heart and head and I am still for a minute, until I remember I have my Go Pro with me and of course I can capture this for my memories. This does of course mean my head switches to the fact of what would be a good shot for social media, but ultimately, I know when I look back at the image taken, I will remember the feeling that came with it, because I enjoyed the feeling first, then took the image.

Damian swims, after I have got out and dressed, as I play with the dog on the shoreline, always having one eye out to make sure he is never in any difficulty in the water, because that’s what swim buddies do. Although if he did, I’d be bloody annoyed that I’d have to dive in, in my jeans, when I have a wet cossie sitting on the floor in my dry bag. A group of walkers have stopped to watch Damian doing the penguin stumble in to the water and shout, “Good on you” for moral support, before they continue on the path, all wrapped up in warm coats and backpacks. They are the first people we have seen this morning and once they have disappeared amongst the trees, the area falls quiet again.

The sunny patch I spied before our swim proves to be a great spot to drink hot black coffee from a flask, as I instinctively see a photographer across the way, setting up his tripod to capture the morning sunlight falling on the snow peaks behind the tarn. I think, would I rather be there with my pro camera, capturing the perfect photograph to sell on, or sat here with a coffee knowing I’d just been a part of that landscape view and seen it from a duck’s eye line. I know the answer these days.

The rest of the short stroll around the tarn path is quick, so we do take a mini hike up a fell path to look down over the water, before heading back to the now full car park. We only having a morning to spare, so have to be heading back, but do squeeze in a visit to the Great Northern Pie Company, to sit outside in the winter sunshine and warm ourselves with delicious pies as an early Sunday lunch treat.

January 15th : Lake District
If anyone has questions about the suitability of this walk for them, do email us.
info@stmarksstays.co.uk