{"id":15894,"date":"2022-05-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=15894"},"modified":"2022-05-12T10:29:22","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T08:29:22","slug":"wild-women-of-the-wye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/2022\/05\/05\/wild-women-of-the-wye\/","title":{"rendered":"Wild women of the Wye"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PROFILE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Wild women of the Wye<\/h2>\n\n

For more than 30 years, Angela Jones has swum almost daily in one of Britain\u2019s most beautiful rivers. She tells Abi Whyte<\/strong> why she fell in love with the once-sparkling waters of the Wye, and what must be done to protect it<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Angela soaks up the sunset following a swim at the Warren meadow in Hay-on-Wye Photo: S.Pearce<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

W<\/span>hen I\u2019m in a healthy river, I spend a lot of time below the surface, brushing past blankets of water crowfoot, seeing larvae among its tangles. I love to cling on to the rocks and watch a salmon or an eel go past.It\u2019s a beautiful place to be.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

As we walk along the banks of the River Wye in Monmouth, Angela Jones\u2019 gaze constantly flits to the water. She will stop our conversation mid-flow to point out a cormorant or a pied wagtail, then continue with her ode to the river \u2013 her lithe, athletic figure striding confidently along the muddy path while I totter behind.<\/p>\n\n

She is taking me to one of her favourite swimming spots, a mile or so south of the market town\u2019s centre, by Monmouth Viaduct. Here, the river widens and forms an eddy on its left bank \u2013 the perfect \u2018pool\u2019 for a quick dip when the river is flowing too high and fast to swim in.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI get them dirty, get them in the water and they begin to find out who they really are\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Angela has been swimming in the Wye for 30 years, and has been a guide on the river for a decade. Known as the \u2018Wild Woman of the Wye\u2019, she is a familiar face on the water, either leading groups of swimmers, kayaking or sleeping on the riverbank in a bivvy bag with her beloved Jack Russell terrier by her side.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cJack and I have had 14 years of adventuring together,\u201d she tells me. \u201cWe kayaked from the Atlantic to the North Sea, and he walked the 97 miles back over the Scottish Highlands with me to my van, my kayak on my back. He has had quite a life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

And so has she, so far, it seems \u2013 travelling solo around the Middle East in her teens and (unintentionally, she tells me) becoming an international athlete in her 30s, competing in triathlons and mountain races. It was upon returning from her travels that she discovered the allure of the Wye Valley, and chose to make it her home.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe beauty of this river is so diverse,\u201d she tells me as we set down our backpacks. \u201cWe have 200-foot red sandstone cliffs, rapids, salmon pools and slow, meandering stretches.The wildlife is incredible \u2013 there are stretches where I know I will see otters, or adders in the banks, or a place where a lone white goose returns every year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

SWIMMING WITH A LEGEND<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

\u201cWhen we come out, the most important thing is to get warm and dry as quickly as possible, so place your towel on top,\u201d she tells me. We change into swimsuits and Angela talks me through a breathing technique that she demonstrates to all her swimming clients, relaxing them and slowing down their heart rate before immersion in the water.<\/p>\n\n

I ask her what it\u2019s like to introduce new people to cold-water swimming.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful because everyone\u2019s personality is so different,\u201d she explains. \u201cMany want to find something within themselves \u2013 they are not sure what it is or how to go about it. I strip them bare, get them dirty, get them in the water and they begin to find out who they really are.\u201dMy feet are certainly dirty, toes squelching in the wet, sucking mud. \u201cIsn\u2019t it glorious?\u201d she laughs, taking me by the hand.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Our immersion in the water is brief and full of laughter.The water temperature is only 4\u00b0C, so Angela suggests we stay in for only a couple of minutes. \u201cColdness is a mindset,\u201d she advises as we paddle back to the bank. \u201cUse the word \u2018invigorating\u2019 instead!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

I am certainly invigorated as I emerge stiffly from the water, my skin red, hands reaching for my towel. Soon I am warm and dry once more, and there is no hiding the smile on my face as endorphins race around my body and I feel an overwhelming desire to dance about. I pull out my Thermos instead.<\/p>\n\n