The Bluetits have had a very busy couple of weeks - introducing new members to the group, competing and meeting up with new Welsh cold water swim clubs (writes T.S.)!

First on the agenda was finding cold water to swim in as the sea was running a little too warm for our tastes, everyone was anticipating the upcoming chill swim event with expected temperatures of under five degrees, so we went searching for cold water in Pembrokeshire. We took a trip up to Rosebush Quarry and much to our delight the temperature was a shivering 4.9 degrees!

Sian, Penny, Tara, Tracey and our new international friends Nic Calder from America and Dave Calder from Norway, all had a fantastic time and managed a very good training exercise. The video of this can be found on our Facebook page. Many thanks to 3sixtyddwei Productions for filming us.

The next event took the Bluetits up to the Blue Lagoon in Abereiddy to join forces with Man Up UK. This event, aptly named ‘January made me shiver’, was an interesting exercise in seeing who could ‘man up’, hee hee, and take the plunge. Very lovely to see various people come and give it a try and absolutely delighted to see the few who were also brave enough to jump from the high, middle and lower jump areas. Well done all and a big thank you to Fintan from Man Up UK for organising the event.

Meanwhile, Tracey took a trip to Merthyr to visit another new cold water swim club, The Dippy Dragons. Tracey was very welcomed into their group and had a turn at swimming in the keeper’s pond in Blaenavon at an astounding 3.9 degrees!

Our main and big event this year was the annual Big Chill Swim event which was held up in Windermere. The lake temperature was 6.4 degrees, with strictly no neoprene allowed and tight rules as this was the world championships.

Six Bluetits made the trip up to the Lake District. Sian took on the 120 metres, just being pipped to getting a third, Helen and Jan took on the 30 metres, each earning a first place, Hannah and Keith also took on the 30 metres, while Tracey took on the 60 metres. It was very interesting to watch the German and Irish teams thrash it out and speed down the lanes!

All the Bluetits were very impressed with how the event was run, the goody bag, medal and all-round atmosphere. A very well done to Colin Hill for his organisation!

Bluetits Sian and Penny met in Solva for a bit of a windy swim and were joined by Lady Judy Moody Stuart who is 75-years-old! There were no qualms with this brave lady as she quite happily got in to the water and swam for 20 minutes. You are never too old to try anything!

The Bluetits were very pleased to be snapped by someone whilst having a swim at Solva and put on the Facebook page, I live in Pembrokeshire and I love it. Many thanks goes to Alex Payne for taking the picture.

If anyone would like to join us, you would be made more than welcome. With now over 50 members and now worldwide, you would have a vast choice of where and who to swim with. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page for details of where we swim next and either message us through Facebook or call Tracey on 07772765839 (Tenby area) or Sian 07919006012 (St. David’s area).

And finally, our last bit of news has us sending a massive congratulations to our cold water cousins down in Merthyr, The Dippy Dragons. Both Catherine Pendelton and Viki Brice have become the first Welsh women to successfully complete the Ice Mile. This is a mile in open water with no neoprene in a temperature of 4.6 degrees. The Bluetits salute you ladies for an outstanding achievement. Well done!