The longest daze

Saturdaynightsundayday: The longest daze

In preparation for our lido tour and to end the longest day, husband and I came up with a mini adventure plan. A swim at the lovely Hathersage lido http://www.hathersageswimmingpool.co.uk/ in the early hours, at the end of their 24 hour solstice opening, followed by a walk along Stanage Edge to watch the sunrise. It seemed like such a good idea in the daylight and during normal waking hours!

40 lengths at 2am is interesting. The water had an eerie smokiness to it, making it tricky to swim in a straight line, or was that just the sleep deprivation? The “laps” lane was fairly quiet (believe it or not!), but the rest of the pool was buzzing. There was a game of water polo going on, teens doing water-type acrobatics and the odd head-up breast-stroker meandering up and down. I think I like it better in the daylight, for many reasons.

The dawn twilight on Stanage is however amazing. It’s different from any other light. The green of the ferns was vivid against the dark shadows of the gritstone edge. We walked to the trig in a bit of a daze. I felt slightly detached from my body, but it was worth the weird feeling for the views of the hills and the city and we stood on the rocks breathing them in.

Sunday continued after a short sleep with the epic packing of Netti theYeti, and the beginning of the adventure: a night at the youth hostel in Stratford-Upon-Avon  (highly recommended , even when shared with sixty primary school kids!) and an evening’s entertainment at the RSC watching John Grant live in concert. Now I would not wish to deceive you at this point. I had no idea who John Grant was until last night, it is my musically knowledgeable husband who knows these things, but apparently he’s quite a legend. I can tell you this much: he looks like Phillip Seymour Hoffman, clearly has hypermobile hands (once a physiotherapist, always a physiotherapist), and has a voice like honey.

Monday: Sandford Park lido... poshy poshy!
http://www.sandfordparkslido.org.uk/

I was soooo excited about visiting our first lido – Sandford park in the grand town of Cheltenham (poshy poshy, as hubby would say), but first we needed a trip to the local deli for picnic provisions. £10.40 for a bit of bread and cheese! Poshy poshy alright. I had to ask if it was right, which is always really embarrassing when it is!

Anyway, back to the lido, the gorgeous, massive 50m, heated pool that is Sandford Park and has been since 1935. It is surrounded by manicured lawns and borders, there’s a separate kids’ pool hidden out of the way, there are lanes for slow swimmers, medium swimmers, training swimmers and “tri”. They are NOT just ‘avin a go, they’re the FAST ones. There are lovely hot showers, oldy woldy outdoorsy wooden cubicles, and at the far end, a cafe where you can keep your non-lido loving husband happy with an icecream. There is also a slide, which doesn’t look steep or fast until you get to the top, and then it’s too late... AAAAAAH!

We set up camp on the lawn in the hot sun and then slipped into the delicious 28 degree water. “I’m only doin’ a k” came the call from hubby in the medium lane. My head was already under, loving the sensation as I thought “I might do two!”