Whilst the track took about half the time, it was no more comfortable. The worn leather seats did little to cushion the bumps and potholes of the track, my bones shaking within my skin until I worried my teeth would fall out.
‘Here we are,’ said Harry, pulling up outside a cosy-looking cabin.
‘Who lives here?’
‘Seb. I’m surprised he didn’t show you yesterday.’
‘I guess there was too much else to see. How come we’ve stopped here?’
‘One, the track’s too overgrown to get any closer to the lake, and two, he has an outdoor hot shower we can use once we’ve been for our swim.’
My face must have betrayed my feelings, as Harry laughed and put an arm around my shoulder.
‘Don’t worry, Seb’s no perv. He’s out feeding the chickens, and even if he comes back, he’s built a cubicle around the shower to protect the user’s modesty. Right, you ready?’
I looked down at my many layers. ‘Where do I get changed?’
‘We’ll get changed by the water. I usually get changed here, but you don’t want to be walking down the track in a wetsuit.’
I followed Harry as she picked her way along an animal track carved into the undergrowth. Brambles caught my coat, and several times I had to stop to free myself. The ground was squelchy under foot, my trainers sinking into mud deeper than my ankles.
‘We’ll have to sort you some wellies for next time,’ said Harry.
If there was one thing I’d learned already that morning, it was that there was nothing glamorous about wild swimming. Between the tears in my coat, mud-covered trainers, and crazy hair scraped up on top of my head, I was very glad there was no one to witness my escapade. And I hadn’t even put my wetsuit on yet.
As we climbed up onto the wooden jetty, Harry handed me two plastic bags.
‘Are these for my clothes?’
‘No, they’re for your feet. Trust me, they’ll make getting the wetsuit on a whole lot easier.’
God knows what putting the wetsuit on would have been like without Harry’s hack, for even with two bags on my feet, thedamn thing was near impossible to get on. I hopped around on the jetty like an ungainly trainee ninja, and twice Harry caught me just in time before I toppled into the water.
When I was finally zipped up and barely able to move my arms and legs, Harry dug around in her bag and pulled out wetsuit boots and gloves. She handed a set to me, then put some on herself. I swallowed down a giggle, but it broke free and I spluttered into my neoprene-clad hand.
‘What?’
‘D… do… you… wear those… g… g… gloves and boots when you’re skinny dipping?’
Harry’s face creased into a grin. ‘Of course I do. I’m not mad. I don’t want frostbite on my extremities.’
‘Now that’s a sight I’d like to see.’
Harry began untying the strap of her swimming costume.
‘Not today though,’ I added.
‘Come on. It’s best to get it over with. Stay here too long and we’ll talk ourselves out of this.’
As I was new to this particular form of torture, Harry guided me into the water, one small step at a time. Her words,we don’t want you getting cold shock,doing nothing to build my confidence. Icy water shot up the leg of my wetsuit and I let out a small yelp. I’d promised myself before we arrived I wouldn’t lose face by screaming, but as the punishing water made its way through my wetsuit, I gave into my natural urge and squealed like a pig.
Harry waded in, laughing and splashing like she was on the beach in a heatwave.
‘You’re crazy,’ I yelled. ‘This is horrific.’
‘Give it time,’ said Harry. ‘Do you feel you’re being stabbed by a thousand pins yet?’
‘I feel like I c… c…. can’t breathe.’
