 Stand-up paddle boarding is inherently slow and so it forces you to slow down. It makes you slow, it makes you steady and then you end up taking in more. We set off down near Aheracle and we paddled the full length of lock shield. We're three mates and it was the first time that we'd really got that opportunity to just fully engage. It just felt like a really special experience. Paddleboards will often force you to go slow and take in the area around you. You're slowing things down and then you can enjoy the whole journey rather than just getting to a point. Conversation is a really important thing and this kind of trip allows that to happen in a really natural way. An adventure where it's not about physically challenging yourself, but it's purely about travelling through a landscape. It felt like we had a lot of time to talk. We made our way onto the main stretch of the lock and that's a really impressive sight to see. It's this one big scar in the mountains. Obviously being outdoors, there's a sense of the ownership being almost the other way around. We are definitely owned by the landscape and it is absolutely up to the landscape as to what it wants to do with us really. The weather changed the second day. We had a lot more wind, we had a lot more gusts and that made paddling a little bit more difficult. Wind on our back, the water could be a bit choppy, if it was a bit too much we could kneel down. What we could do is put our arms up in the air and make ourselves as big as possible and we all got carried by the wind. It was a really nice way of us connecting with nature which was almost giving us a helping hand. We had a bit of a struggle finding a spot to camp for the night. And we could all feel the grump setting in. After paddling across the lock and exploring a couple of small beaches we managed to find a perfect little spot for us to camp up. The second camp spot was a definite highlight of the trend. Quaint about us all stood round the fire chatting away and enjoying ourselves in the dark and in the rain. Nice relaxed start to the day and I got in the water and enjoyed a swim. Wild swimming is unique because on a number of levels it makes me feel really powerful. If I've stripped down to my swimming costume and I've then pushed through the challenge of getting into cold water I get an immense sense of pride in what my body can do but what my brain can do as well. When a lot of things all come together they gradually build and build and build until I simply struggle to keep them in. It could be that just something almost like topples me over the edge. So I've maybe had a really good conversation with someone and then suddenly some sun comes out from behind the cloud and I just... I can't keep it in. And it just makes me want to dance and wiggle and laugh. And I'm not laughing because everything's funny. I'm laughing because smiling's just not enough. I felt like that happened a lot on this trip because we slowed down. It wasn't setting a goal, it was more about just allowing our brains to slow down and connect with each other with the water. I felt like the point was just to purely enjoy.