Our weekend warrior Martyn Brunt\u2019s got it in for wild swimmers, who he believes have diminished his chances to brag about his open-water exploits\u2026 <\/p>
There\u2019s no doubt that if there\u2019s one pastime that has boomed over the past couple of years, it\u2019s wild swimming. Or, as it used to be known, \u2018swimming\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a sure sign that something has caught on when it starts being written about in newspaper lifestyle supplements. And it seems that I can\u2019t glance at social media these days without being bombarded with adverts for tow floats<\/strong><\/a>, organic towels<\/strong><\/a>, flasks<\/strong><\/a> to keep your post-swim latte warm, and camouflage changing robes<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Naturally my reaction to this is delight at seeing so many people enjoying outdoor healthy pursuits and discovering the joy of swimming. That\u2019s my public reaction anyway.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Behind the insincere smile I\u2019m quietly seething that the thing I do, which was previously considered the exclusive preserve of super-fit nutters, has been gentrified, and my opportunities to brag about my death-defying open-water exploits have been diminished.<\/p>\n For nothing takes the edge off the element of danger you\u2019ve cultivated like seeing your sport appear in a free magazine from a supermarket.<\/p>\n Of course, there are some major differences between the kind of open-water swimming we all do and the average wild swim. For the most part the new breed of wild swimmers don\u2019t:<\/p>\n\n