This week, five authors remember a favourite swimming experience:
3. Musician and author Marcus O'Dair dons his wet suit and blazes a trail across blackish Ullswater in the Lake District, thinking of his strokes and other famous swimmers, and his mother swims with him too!
Producer Duncan Minshull.
Available Podcasts from The Essay
We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the The Essay webpage.