Island adventure

Swimming around Burgh Island with a huge hangover is not a particularly good idea. Still, it never stopped me before and it didn't today. We were a large group, as we were joined by the Outdoor Swimming Society. The waves were, ahem, challenging, and although most of the group made it round, I took advantage of a kind offer by the lifeguards of a lift in their boat towards the end. Note to self; future circumnavigation of the Island requires both a flat sea and a clear head.

Enchanted cave

When you are in the water, you are somehow paused in an otherworldly time and place. Today, at Start Point, the sea was turquoise and we swam over gently waving jungles of weed to a cave that felt like the central atrium of a fairy castle. It was full of white polished pebbles, and clear blue water, with shafts of sunlight dropping through.

The Long March

You really have to want to go to Red Lake. It is miles from anywhere, in the middle of Dartmoor. We tramped over mire, marsh and ancient barrows to reach it. There are actually three lakes. We swam in the biggest first. The water was very soft and dark and peaty. Two of us, keen to christen all three, then went into the others; the smallest was very warm and surrounded by reeds and bog cotton. We felt enclosed and safe.

Catch of the day

It's always a bonus when you go out and come home with something delicious. My brother James and I were snorkelling off the coast near Kingsbridge, and enjoying swimming around the underwater forests of weed in rainbow colours, when I spotted a large spider crab sitting on a ledge. James dove down and grabbed it, and we took it home to eat. It weighed two pounds - about a kilo. We ate it with home-made mayonnaise and salad.

Adder encounter

Today we shared our swimming pool with an adder. We were cooling off in the Dart when we saw a snake swimming across our path a few metres ahead. It was about two feet long, and unmistakeable with its graphic markings. It was heading determinedly for the bank, where I managed to take a picture of it slithering up and away. After this episode you can imagine we needed a little calming down, which we did by floating around and swimming underwater.

Liquid refreshment

The heatwave continues. I didn't have much spare time today but managed to make it down to the Dart for a quick dip. The water was delicious: cool and soothing. We wallowed happily, and then had fun diving off the rocks and swimming around underwater, looking at the world of cliffs, mountains and boulders hidden under the surface.

Secret lake

The fog hung over Dartmoor as we trudged past a tumbledown tor and headed down through bluebells to the valley on the other side . At the bottom was a wood and a bubbling, rocky stream. Not far from here is a hidden lake. We walked past oak trees in bud and moss-covered boulders to get to it, and then indulged in a secluded swim as trout jumped.

Thurlestone Rock

This was a heavenly swim. Blistering day, millpond sea, and a pilgrimage to a cathedral-like arch. Swimming out was no effort at all, over grey and purple rocky landscapes covered with kelp forests. The water around the Rock was clear and green and deep, enabling lots of jumps and dives.

Kind of blue

Bluebells, like Christmas, come but once a year. They're thought of as a woodland plant, but there are drifts of them all over Dartmoor, casting purple shadows across the landscape. They seem to grow happily amongst the granite outcrops. These were near Saddle Tor.

Lido land

We're lucky to be surrounded by lidos. There are seven within twenty miles of our house, including Ashburton, Teignmouth, Moretonhampstead and Chagford. Today we patronised Buckfastleigh. The ladies' changing rooms had certainly had a facelift from last season. We are liking two-tone candy pink. Unfortunately, due to council paranoia about paedophiles, I wasn't allowed to take any photos inside the pool. Suffice to say it's surrounded by a lot of concrete but it's still lovely. Small and sweet. Outside, the pool is protected from vandals by barbed wire and sticky paint. Unfortunately the sign is not immune. My son is covering up the contribution made by the local scroats.