I don’t ever go on holiday, what with running a hill farm and looking after my nine children, but I always keep a swimming costume and wetsuit in the back of the car in case I find myself working by the sea. Sea swimming is a rarity for me, but delightful when I can do it. A few months ago I was in Whitby and went to Sandsend Beach to swim. I parked up just as the sun was setting and everyone else was going home, and walked into the sea to watch the sun going down over the cliffs. It was beautiful. At a literary festival on Jersey, I was staying right on the seafront and went down to the beach in my coat before going for a swim. It felt so liberating.
I grew up in Huddersfield but we didn’t visit the seaside; I’ve discovered the North East coast as an adult. Saltburn-by-the-Sea is a very under-rated coastal resort that I find wonderful. It’s more old-fashioned than Scarborough, but has a pier, rocky bits and sandy bits. You can park up and in 30 seconds you’re in the sea. It’s exhilarating! Sea swimming is not just about the exercise but being in the landscape: there’s the wind, the waves, the birds, the seaweed and the flotsam and jetsam.
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I’m always rushing, but when I go into the sea, for a little while time stands still. If you can drop all the bells and whistles that go with a day by the seaside – the windbreak, the buckets and spades, the picnic – it makes it a lot less stressful. Half the time I forget to take a towel with me, but that’s OK – we’ve got heated seats in the car and I dry on the journey back. It doesn’t have to be an epic swim for you to reap the rewards. On the farm I spend a lot of time battling the elements so there’s nothing better than waiting until the tide has turned, going into the sea and taking some pleasure from it.
Amanda Owen’s latest book, Celebrating the Seasons with the Yorkshire Shepherdess: Farming, Family and Delicious Recipes to Share (£20, Pan Macmillan) is on sale now, and features her own photos of the Swaledale landscape as well as favourite family dishes.
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