Posted by Robert Dilley on March 07, 2003 at 18:53:49 from 65.39.15.64 user rdilley.
In Reply to: Swimming posted by Ross on March 07, 2003 at 18:09:24:
The Lake District lakes rarely freeze over (other than the smaller, shallower tarns) -- as has often been noted, WH is based on one such rare event in AR's childhood.
However, I can attest from personal experience (if somewhat outdated now) that the lakes are almost always @#$%&* COLD. They are fed by fast-moving becks coming from the fells and are mostly pretty deep. My swimming in them (principally Derwent Water and Ullswater, as my family lived on the northern fringes) was usually very brief; to cool off after a long hike. I have often wondered at the hardihood of the S&As in their early-morning bathes. Maybe it comes from being hardened by cold baths at their schools!
Rarely, if you found a shallow area that had been warmed by the sun over a period of days you could tolerate it a bit longer.
Now that I live on the shores of the world's largest freshwater lake (in area -- before someone points out that Baikal has more water in it) the situation is little changed. Superior never freezes all over, though the edges get pretty solid for several miles out, and in summer it is rarely tolerable for more than a few minutes.
Having said all this, I wait for hardy TarBoarders responding that they happily float lazily in any Lake District lake -- in January.