While I'd visited Crazywell Pool on Dartmoor many times on walks and thought that it looked like a lovely spot for a wild swim, I hadn't yet done it. So at the end of August, the day dawned with a glorious blue sky and I headed off with my swim kit to rectify this.
Parking at Whiteworks, near Princetown, it's a-mile-and-a-half to the pool. The first part of the walk is the main track popular with mountain bikers, but is a little stony. Then follow the leat to the right, keeping on the left side and after half a mile, head down to the pool.
Other inhabitants of the moors were also out early and grazing by the leat! It was a lovely, brief encounter with some ponies.
At the pool there were purple heathers and yellow gorse flowers dotting the banks and a couple of trees, including a orange-berried Rowan.
The setting was perfect and the water was cool, but not too cold. The pool is about 100 metres in length and I slowly swam back and forth, taking in the nature around me. Two swifts swooped across the water in front of me and disappeared over the top of the bank.
There are many stories about this pool. It's believed to have been created from old tin mine workings, and there are myths about it being bottomless. For more information read Legendary Dartmoor's article on it.
Crazywell Pool is a beautiful spot; secluded but not too hidden and perfect for a picnic. I'll be back next summer for another wild swim.
For more information on wild swimming visit the Devon and Cornwall wild swimming website.
© Gillian Adams 2020