snowdonia national park is a mountain range in north wales. it is a beautiful area to live in.tightly packed. and in between that is where you get the lakes, and although they may be much smaller and a bit of a trek to get to, i don't know, for me, it makes it a little bit more special. i've always swum since childhood, my mum was a swimmer. my mum passed away 11 years ago and i found grieving was very hard for me, so i think the time alone was part of it. i do obsessively swim now and i did not before, but i did not make a conscious decision to start swimming this way, it was definitely subconscious. i always have this, i call it a nervous anticipation in the tummy, but the nerves can be intimidation because sometimes the water is dark, you don't know what is inside, beasties or weeds, but that's all part of it for me, is wanting to feel those nerves. i am not somebody who wants to dive down. sometimes i just want to be submerged up to my shoulders and just feel that feeling of the cool freshness on my skin and, yeah, sometimes that is just enough for me. it is a time to leave