Ok, so not everyone wants to know what’s in the water with them but trust me, this is really beautiful. I’d love to say that we had filmed this ourselves but as yet we haven’t ventured into using the GoPro but maybe this summer…

Marine biology degree student and photographer/film maker, Theo Vickers has made this great short wildlife film that he’s spent the last year working on. Shot over the summer and autumn of 2020, the film focuses on the Isle of Wight’s marine biodiversity.

In 2019 the Isle of Wight was given Biosphere reserve status from UNESCO. Wahoo! And yes, that means we are ‘Biosphere Swimming Women’!

In the height of warm late summer swimming, Karen and I invested in a snorkelling set each. I say ‘invested’, but these are fairly basic, low cost sets that we bought to be able to experience what was under the water rather than kit to explore the Mariana Trench.

Having mask and snorkel means a very different way of swimming, a different attitude. Like young teens on holiday we have heads down and wafting kicks, and a total lack of awareness of time and distance. There is a feeling of freedom and excitement – genuine adventure even though we are so near to our respective houses. Snorkelling along the beach line we’re transfixed by the sheer amount of wildlife that we normally swim over… or in reality the wildlife that we swim with!