What started as one Sunday swim became a community I never expected.
When my husband and I moved to Eastbourne last year, I knew almost nobody.
We'd always dreamed of living by the sea. I spent many family holidays in Pevensey Bay, my parents live here and my nan’s ashes are scattered here too. When the opportunity came, we wanted a slower pace of life and somewhere that felt like home.
What I hadn't expected was how lonely starting again would feel.
Once we'd unpacked and settled in, I made a conscious decision that I wasn't going to sit at home waiting for friendships to happen. I wanted to get out there and meet people.
I'd come across We Swam Through on social media, a local cold water swimming group that met each weekend. Eventually, I plucked up the courage and decided to go along one Sunday morning. I remember feeling completely overwhelmed. I didn't know a single person and walking up to a group of strangers felt incredibly intimidating.
So I gave myself one simple goal.
Speak to one person.
The next week I'd do the same.
Slowly, the same faces became familiar, familiar faces became conversations, and conversations became friendships.
Before long, Fridays also became early morning sea dips before work with some of the same group. Sundays became something I looked forward to every week.
Then everything else seemed to grow from there.
Before long, one Sunday swim became sunrise paddleboarding. Paddleboarding became BBQs on the beach. BBQs became monthly sauna sessions and coffee afterwards.
My world slowly became much bigger than a Sunday morning dip.
Even my dog became part of the routine and probably ended up with more friends than I did!
It ended up being one of the best summers I've ever had. For the first time, I didn't really feel the need to go away or book holidays abroad. There was so much happening right here that I never felt like I was missing out.
More than anything, I realised happiness doesn't always have to cost money.
- A sea dip is free.
- A walk along the beach is free.
- A coffee and a bacon roll afterwards can feel like the best part of your week.
There's never any pressure either. You can chat for ages, or not at all. Just turning up is enough.
Those friendships gave me the confidence to try other things too, including joining the local running group. Looking back, I don't think it was the activities that changed me. It was the people.
Life looks a little different these days and work means I can't always make the Friday morning dips anymore. But I've stopped putting pressure on myself.
I've slowed down a little too. I think my body was telling me that I needed a different pace of life.
These days, the beach isn't always somewhere I go to do something. Sometimes I'll take my journal down and write, sit with the dog, spend some time at the sauna, or just be by the sea for a while.
At first, the beach gave me a way to get out, meet people and build a life here. Now it's also become somewhere I go when I need to slow down.
The friendships are still there.
The community is still there.
Whether it's a Sunday swim, a run, or just bumping into familiar faces on the seafront, I know I've found something special.
Looking back, that first nervous Sunday morning changed far more than I ever imagined.
A few things before you go...
