Settle man Les Peebles enjoys nothing more than a sub-zero wild swim

The annual January Daily Dip event is now in its fourth year, with the group raising more than £30,000 so far.

Les Peebles, originally from Cheltenham but now living near Settle, is a wild swimming guide in the Yorkshire Dales. He said he enjoys swimming in waterfalls and rivers and is “unbearable” if he misses a day in the open water.

He added: “I heard a friend of mine say recently that wild swimming is like a free drug, a free legal drug, and that’s what it is.

“Of course it’s an adrenaline rush, it’s great for your mental health, after I’ve been in for a swim I feel bright and bushy, feel like I’m ready to take on the day.

“The benefits are all round and physically it’s good for you as well, of course the exercise as well as the cold water.”

Mr Peebles said membership of the group’s Facebook page had risen from around 1,000 at the beginning of 2020, to almost 4,000 members, which he said was testament to people wanting to stay local during lockdown.

And he said it was “really important” to support Crisis after a year which had seen people losing their jobs and their homes.

He said: “Crisis needs the funds to continue to support people because people are losing their jobs, losing their homes, especially in the last 12 months more than ever, so that’s why it’s really important to us to keep supporting them.”

Mr Peebles advised anyone wanting to try wild swimming to go with someone more experienced and to enter the water slowly to avoid slipping and falling.

He said: “Once you get started on this hobby, you want to keep going.”

The group had raised more than £7,700 on Wednesday and their fundraising page describes their members “taking the plunge in just our cossies and big smiles”.

They said: “We should all have a place to call home. Across the UK, thousands of people will be without a home this winter. We are facing the freeze for Crisis – The UK’s homelessness charity.

“Please donate here while we take our daily vigil into the cold to help end homelessness.”

Pictures on the page showed a number of members swimming in icy conditions, with one swimmer writing: “There isn’t one of us that hasn’t had to compete with snow, ice, wind, slippy footpaths or scrubbing ourselves dry with a scratchy towel.

“We’re all doing this together because we really believe this discomfort is nothing in comparison to the uncertainty, discomfort and danger of sleeping rough or not having somewhere permanent to call home.”

The Daily Dipper JustGiving fundraising page states: “We should all have a place to call home. Across the UK, thousands of people will be without a home this winter. We are facing the freeze for Crisis- The UK’s Homelessness Charity. Please donate here while we take our daily vigil into the cold to help end homelessness.

“The January Daily Dip is in its 4th year and so far we’ve raised nearly £30k for homeless and displaced people. We have gone from a team of three to more than 20 daily dippers. We’ll be sharing our stories and swimming adventures over the coming weeks.

“In 2021 we have the opportunity to make a tangible impact with our fundraising.

“Research conducted by Crisis this year suggests there has been a 14 per cent increase in the number of people living in temporary accommodation, with a 60 per cent increase in people living in B&Bs since the same period last year, which include the hotels provided under the Everyone In scheme.”

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: “These figures serve as a reminder of how beneficial the measures put in place at the start of the pandemic, such as the ban on evictions and the Everyone In scheme, were. However, these interventions were only temporary and with the economic impact of the pandemic really beginning to bite, we are starting to see this progress unravel. More and more people are struggling to make ends meet as jobs are lost, hours cut, and wages reduced.”

For more information, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/januarydailydip21