Hobby Focus
THE LADY of the lake
After retiring from her high-pressure career as a lawyer, Marian Boyd took the plunge and discovered the joy and adventure of open water swimming...
It’s an idyllic scene at Leybourne with the sun sparkling on the lake and the park’s resident geese leading their young families down the bank to try the water. And despite a notice recording the water temperature at a bracing 18 degrees centigrade, Marian is longing to join them. “I come here at least once a week”, she
says. “Just look around – it’s beautiful.” A keen swimmer since childhood, she began swimming at Leybourne Lake Watersports Centre two years ago. After an initial induction assessment with a qualified instructor, she started to swim regularly in the 7-metre deep lake. She said: “I did it very slowly. For the whole of the first summer, I just swam around the edge and built up my strength and fitness. I was just hooked.” Brought up in Dublin, Marian swam
competitively as a youngster, and at the age of 12, made it to the national breast stroke finals, finishing sixth fastest in Ireland. “I grew up by the sea and loved swimming in it, but once I had learned to swim, I couldn’t just splash about. I had to get somewhere – I think that sums me up,” she says. After moving to London, Marian
worked as a nurse, and was named Nurse of the Year, but chose a dramatic career change. She studied at law school to become a barrister and was called to the bar in 1985, specialising in criminal law. She later joined the Crown Prosecution
Service in Kent where she stayed until her retirement at the age of 60. A mum-of-one, she now lives in Maidstone, and her daughter, Francesca, is a fashion stylist based in London. Marian dipped her toes into lake swimming through her “bucket list” wish to do
triathlon, which also includes cycling and running. She now competes successfully for
Ocean Lake Triathlon Club, which is based at Leybourne, and she is looking forward to a team event in Estonia in August. She says: “I am just longing to find other places to swim. There are so many gorgeous places in Kent. “Open water is about freedom and
relaxation and being de-stressed, I can swim out to the middle of the lake and turn over on my back and just lie there in the stillness. There is nothing else around you – and you can just be.”
Congratulations from daughter, Francesca,(top right), displaying some of her medals (centre) and with triathlon club members (bottom right)
Mid Kent Living 39 Open water swimming
Open water swimming can be dangerous and you need to already be a strong pool swimmer and use a site where safety measures are in place. Advice can be obtained online from organisations including the Outdoor Swimming Society, Leybourne Lake Watersports Centre, and Ocean Lake Triathlon Club.
To swim at Leybourne lakes, you must contact Leybourne Lakes Watersports Centre, telephone 01634 246006, or instructors, Will on 07821931791 or Steve on 07904734919.
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