TAKING THE SALT PATH

Brighton sea swimmers the Salty Seabirds have encouraged hundreds of novices to experience the glow of wellbeing following a dip in the ocean – and the rewarding sense of community that goes with it

- GABRIELLE JAFFE

Gulls fill the sky above Brighton’s iconic piers and a couple miles away on Hove Lawns Beach another kind of flock is gathering on this blustery day. Calling themselves the Salty Seabirds, a dozen or so swimmers, mostly women, huddle against the sea wall. Their lively chatter and nervous laughter can be heard from a distance, long before their bright, funky sports robes and thermal swim caps come into view.

Everyone is waiting for someone else to go first. Suddenly one of them leads the charge. Stripping down to their swimsuits with giggles, squeals and Calendar Girls-style abandon, the rest of them dash to the water, the odd swearword escaping their mouths as they tumble into the freezing waves. They emerge 20 minutes or so later, invigorated, their skin glowing red from the cold. Changing at lMAKING WAVES ightning speed on the shingle beach before their fingers get too numb, they’re soon in woolly hats, gathered round Thermoses, exchanging hot drinks, cake, and a good gossip.

SALTED WELLBEING

Salty Seabirds is a huge phenomenon. Its Facebook page has more than 1,000 members, and organises daily swims throughout the year on Brighton and Hove’s beaches. There’s also an associated online store (seabirdsltd.com), which funnels its profits back into water-based charities, including the Seabirds’ own Women, Wellbeing & Water initiative, a programme that introduces people with mental health issues to the benefits of sea swimming.