Trying to swim in the North Sea/Thames Estuary at least once a month for a year is tricky. The hardest thing to do is getting your head in the right place to persuade the rest of your body into the water. I think I have enjoyed the colder swims the most, but getting into the water to do it has proved really difficult, instinct really keeps you on the beach.

All that said, it can be so beautiful in the water, calm and quiet and even the numbness is beguiling which is probably what makes it so dangerous. I know I would find excuses not to go in, so being part of the Chill UK cohort really helps – when someone asks if anyone else is taking a dip it’s so much easier to say yes.

One day I took my phone into the water in its little bag and it decided to make a film – in slo-mo. Turn the sound up for the best experience.