TABLE TALK #140
When the sun finally shows its face, there’s a collective urge to fling ourselves into the nearest body of water - whether lido, loch or river bend only the locals know about.
Today’s Table Talk dives into watering holes - in the literal, splash-about sense of the word.
🍝 MAIN COURSE 🍝
A few summers back, we fell into a tradition known, affectionately, as the dip & kip.
The plan was always gloriously unplanned. Hop on a train out of London, follow a river until it looked inviting enough to jump in, dry off in a field somewhere, sleep under the stars, and somehow stumble back into the office the next morning, feeling half wild and wholly alive.
I could tell you about the places we found - brooks in the Surrey Hills, quiet corners of the Lake District, sleepy stretches of the Thames in Berkshire.
But really, the magic wasn’t about ticking off destinations.
It was about getting off at a random station, getting a little lost, clambering down nettle-flanked banks, dunking ourselves into water occasionally so shallow you had to lie flat just to get properly wet.
It was messy, imperfect, and completely brilliant.
Photo Credit: Cold Water Kristen
There’s something satisfying about swimming against the grain of how everything seems to work now - all that endless data, planning, the “best 10 spots” lists.
Sometimes it’s better not to know. To love fate. To follow your nose, rather than your phone. To remember that not every adventure needs five stars and a TripAdvisor page.
Because the truth is, most of the time, everyone’s just pretending to be braver than they feel.
Actually sliding down a muddy riverbank at dusk is nerve-wracking.
You get stung. You slip. You wonder what on earth might be lurking in the reeds.
For all your wilderness ideals, you often don't sleep particularly well either. Either you're terrified of what imaginary ill lurks in the darkness or you accidentally end up under the Heathrow flight path, planes roaring overhead like clockwork.
But then: 4:30am, a misty sky, a river all to yourself, a feeling like you’re part of some secret club.
You towel off, catch the first train back, and slip into your desk chair, carrying a little pocket of freedom no one else can see.
Photo Credit: Cold Water Kristen
🍮 SWEET ENDINGS 🍮
Looking back, it was less about the exercise and more about the full reset.
Wild swimming does that. It’s cold, it’s grounding, it’s gloriously free. And while gong baths and infrared saunas may be in vogue, there’s something equally - if not more - meditative about plunging into a river, floating under the open sky, and drying off in a patch of long grass.
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🍷 WHAT'S NEW
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WEDNESDAY'S DOMAINE? 🍷
In the spirit of today’s edit, a special thanks goes to
Cold Water Kirsten, who took our bottles on a little Scottish adventure last week - and somehow captured the soul of Wednesdays Domaine: a little off the beaten track, and all the better for it.
Proof that
a good bottle, good company, and a bit of fresh air are still the best ingredients.
Until next week,
Luke x
