Don't knock it till you try it! As the weather begins to warm up, there's no better way to celebrate than taking a dip in a cold Bucks lake.

On Monday evening, I headed down to Westhorpe Watersports, a family-run centre in Little Marlow, to join a growing community of swimmers tentatively braving the cool English water.

The watersports centre at Westhorpe Farm is a fifth-generation family business tucked away on a beautiful lakeside next to a cafe hut that boasts a pizza oven, coffee machine and licensed bar - catering for visitors at all times of the day.

After I arrived, a fellow swimmer kindly lent me a floatie, some gloves, water shoes and a bobble hat – not just a fashion statement, but a means of being spotted in the lake should something go awry.

The apprehension mounted as I decked myself out in the borrowed equipment – sans a wetsuit, with the light evening breeze not quite bolstering my confidence.

After a hesitant entry into the lake – encouraged by watchers on the bank to breathe deeply and pace myself – I acclimatised to the water much quicker than expected.

While it certainly wasn’t warm, I was pleasantly surprised not to feel like a floating block of ice but instead immediately invigorated and refreshed. 

It’s not just the year-round wild swimmers in Little Marlow who are reaping the benefits of taking a dip in their local lake or patch of sea.

Swim Secure list a boost in stress management, decreased inflammation and a boost in immunity among the reasons to take wild swimming up as a pastime.

Wild swimming has seen a dramatic uptick in popularity over the last few years, with watersports centres among the first organisations to see the easing of lockdown restrictions. 

Mitchell Ashord, who runs Westhorpe Watersports alongside his wife Olivia and sister-in-law Charlotte, said he had seen a real boost in business since the pandemic, with numbers continuing to grow.

"Westhorpe Farm has been in the family for 105 years. Charlotte and Olivia's dad started off having water skiers on the lake and then it grew to include windsailing, then came the jet skis and wild swimming - it just keeps expanding.

"This past winter was the first one we stayed open for and we had between 10 and 50 people coming to each wild swimming session.

"In the height of summer, we can get up to 400 and it's a great, busy atmosphere with a real range of people from competitive swimmers to family groups."

Westhorpe Watersports is located on Westhorpe Farm Lane in Little Marlow, with wild swimming sessions scheduled for Monday and Wednesday nights and Saturday and Sunday mornings. 

Click here for more information about the centre.