A local peer support swim community has marked one year of cold water dips at West Kirby beach.
Mental Health Swims (MHS) West Kirby was created in October 2022 as part of the national Mental Health Swims initiative – an award-winning, mental health peer support community. MHS host free, safe and inclusive swim meet ups nationwide at over 140 locations in the UK and beyond, and are supported by 350 trained volunteers, including three in West Kirby.
In the year since it was set up, MHS West Kirby has put on 14 dips and safely hosted around 200 sea enthusiasts, who have tried out the benefits of dipping in the River Dee as a group, from the beach at Cubbins Green.
The group hosted a special birthday double dip yesterday with the support of local West Kirby bakers and swim enthusiasts, Jen and Carrie Shaw and West Kirby cafe, Lateral, to raise money for the national Mental Health Swims non-for-profit.
Each swim in the River Dee is hosted by three local West Kirby volunteers and the group have been supported by Lateral cafe on Banks Road, year-round, where dippers go to warm up and chat, after every swim.
Jo Robotham, who set up the Mental Health Swims West Kirby group last year, said: “I moved back home to West Kirby from London after lockdown and brought my passion for community and wild swimming with me, so the beautiful beach here was ideal for setting up the group. Sharing the water and opening it up to others, particularly those that have mental health challenges, has been a total joy – this is absolutely about community not competitive swimming.
“There is something about the cold water that brings strangers together in a way that is truly special, everyone is equal when they are stripped back of comforts you don’t find in the cold River Dee. It’s a privilege to see people make the connections that have come about through Mental Health Swims not just here in the sea but after in Lateral, where people share their experiences together.”
Rachel Ashe, Managing Director of Mental Health Swims, said: “Mental Health Swims is a unique offering because we are led by the combined lived experience of our volunteers, our team and participants team who either have experience of mental health issues personally or through supporting someone close to them.
“We focus on accepting people as they are today with no expectation for transformation. It’s not that our participants don’t experience amazing benefits to their wellbeing but we want to foster an environment where no one feels pressure to be anything but themselves. We want to make it as easy as possible for people living with mental illness to join in, to feel accepted and included and ultimately fight mental illness stigma by doing this.”
The free events, which place an emphasis on ‘dips not distance’, have to be carefully planned before a suitable high tide to make sure it’s as safe as possible for people taking part. Numbers are limited to ensure every swim is inclusive and manageable for the hosts too.
Future dips
The group dip year-round and Jo along with and co-hosts, Emily and Dom, will be putting on future dips throughout the year for anyone to give the River Dee a try in an inclusive environment, at Cubbins Green. Dips take place around once or twice per month, depending on the tides and weather. Places are free but must be booked to ensure safety and all event details are published on @mhs_westkirby instagram.
