More evidence that lockdowns can’t crush the human spirit.
One Londoner who has been unable to travel to her favourite bodies of ice-cold water for a sneaky winter dip due to the lockdowns has invented a workaround – wheelie bins filled with ice and snow.
Lucy Ashdown-Parkes, a 45-year-old swimming teacher in Surrey who has previously swum the English Channel, has taken to floating around in a garbage bin filled with icy water.
You might think this is a response to the boredom of lockdown – or perhaps the dullness of an English winter – but no, Lucy is training to swim the North Channel from Ireland to Scotland.
“Temperatures will be lower than the English Channel and I need to be comfortable in the cold,” she told MyLondon.
“I normally swim train in Dover, Brighton, Tooting Bec lido and local lakes.
“With lockdown exercise local rule, I’ve had to switch to land based training of running, rowing, static bike, strength work and ten daily mini dips in my wheelie bin – I’m out in all weathers!”
Rachel Moss from East London has installed a paddling pool in her backyard.
“I am missing the lake so much and look forward to when it reopens but in the meanwhile I’m taking a dip in a kid’s pool in my garden twice a week,” she said.
“I swim on a tether attached to the fence.”
I get locked down, but I get up again… Share your lockdown exercise routine with felicity@medicalrepublic.com.au.
