What with Harrop Tarn being my new favourite swimming spot, after my visit last June, I was keen to share it with my nearest and dearest, so when A asked about a potential swim when her boyfriend L was visiting, that was the first suggestion which sprang to mind.
The small parking area at Stockhow Bridge was already jam-packed when we arrived, but we were lucky to find some roadside parking close to the junction of the currently closed road around the western side of Thirlmere and the main road.
It was a beautiful day, quite warm, so the views back across the reservoir to Helvellyn and its satellites gave me frequent welcome excuses to stop for a breather and take photos during the steepish ascent.
There’s a bridge across Dob Gill near the outflow from Harrop Tran, but A insisted on a race across the stepping stones. And then again with a headstart. And again with a more generous headstart, but L is a triathlete and clearly very agile, and no amount of leeway was going to get our A across first.
L was ready and into the water before I’d even undone my laces. Then out again even faster. Apparently the water was cold. He wasn’t wrong. I guess triathletes are used to the luxury of a wetsuit.
A is undeniably much hardier than I am: she and her friend S (the Tower Captain’s daughter for long-suffering readers) have instigated a new ‘tradition’ of going for an open water swim on S’s birthday. In March! This year that was in a stream up by Alston in the Pennines (it looked lovely, but A was a bit vague about the exact location). Last year it was in High Dam, with snow still sitting on the banks. Brrr. Never-the-less, on this occasion she took her time getting in and didn’t last much longer in the water than L had.
TBH took an absolute age acclimatising herself inch by squealing inch. By the time she was fully immersed I’d almost finished my first circuit of the tarn (like a lot of mammals adapted to cold water I have my own built in insulation). I could see that TBH intended to follow my lead, so I cut a corner and we swam a circuit together. Or almost together – like most people, TBH swims faster than I do.
Not the most attractive dragonfly perhaps, but exciting for me because I’m not aware of having seen one of these before and I certainly haven’t photographed one.
The first time I saw, and photographed, one of these, was also on a walk with A. And her friend S and the Tower Captain come to that, way back in 2009. One of the photos I took then somehow ended up high on the list of results of an internet image search and for a few years that post would get heavy traffic every July and August when people were trying to work out what it was they’d seen clambering on their Fuschias.
Beating The Bounds 
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Good for you allegedly! (But I can’t see me ever being a convert to winter wild-swims!)
Beautiful, but brrrrrrrr.
It’s a really lovely spot, but you’re right, it is a bit chilly.
Harrop tarn does look lovely, although I can’t imagine it ever warming up too much. Looks like a Fly Agaric without the white spots that most of them have
Unlike High Dam, which definitely warms up as the summer goes on, this does seem to stay relatively cold – I don’t know whether it’s quite deep or if that’s because of the relatively large area it drains?
So you do sometimes get glorious blue sky days. Love the reflections.
Entire blue sky days are a rarity! But we do get blue skies at times, then its good if we can make the most of them.
Another one to add to my list for a swim. Interesting that it seems much colder than other tarns. Looks a fabulous spot that I think we must have walked past on that Birkett bagging day
I think the road around Thirlemere has been permanently closed now, no doubt so United Utilities donāt have to bother maintaining it
We did walk past it on the Birkett day. I doubt it’s colder than other tarns – unless those tarns are relatively shallow, like High Dam is. That warms up pretty noticeably through ny decent spell during the summer.