I'm contributing a poem to the archive. Inspiration came through a merging of my experiences of swimming in the Nene and thinking about one of my literary heroines - Lucy Honeychurch ("A Room With A View", E.M. Forster) her story and experiences of wild swimming.
The poem was inspired by a part of the Nene that forms a natural pool at Alwalton, and the walk leading to it from Mill Lane in Castor. One of my most special memories of the Nene is a recent hot day when the entire family and extended family swam at Alwalton, with the children and some adults swinging from ropes into the pool.
I love the walk from Mill Lane to Alwalton alongside the river. I especially enjoy spotting water birds and taking in the different textures and colours of the reeds and other waterside plants.
Sacred Lake
for Lucy Honeychurch and wild swimming
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