Wild swimming: Taking a plunge in the North Sea sounds appealing but it's just too cold! – Hayley Matthews

I'm on the beach again enjoying the fresh air and to say I'm pleased that the weather is slightly better now is an understatement!

Hayley Matthews is intrigue by the idea of swimming in the freezing waters of the North Sea but didn't last long when she went for a paddle (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)

The car thermometer read 12 degrees during the week and, with the sun shining, it's been the medicine I think we've all needed.

A friend asked how I'm feeling recently because I'm no stranger to anxiety and depression. I told him the cold dark nights are really getting me down and he said he was feeling it too.

I think we're all feeling it, we've all had an incredibly tough year and this winter I think has just about pushed us over the edge. For those not able to work just now I can totally appreciate that the lack of purpose is just incredibly debilitating.

So with the weather sunning up, I'm hoping we can all feel better and with Porty breach being really busy over the last week I think I'm not the only one trying to soak up some vitamin D.

Mind you, the 12 degrees still isn't enough to get me down to Portobello beach with a swimming suit on. However, with the prom not far from us, I've been down almost every day this week.

It's been so nice to see people out in the fresh air enjoying the sunshine with their kids, laughing, smiling and generally looking like they're enjoying themselves.

And all those people out swimming in the sea! There have been so many wild swimmers out in the sea it's making me curious and I might consider it.

A friend mentioned to me recently that he had been doing it for a while and is loving it.

And as I believe there are a lot of benefits – benefits for your mental health (because we all have mental heath and it really needs looking after just now), good for your skin, inflammation of joints etc. It got me thinking, what doesn't wild swimming cure?

So I'm sat here on the beach with my eldest sowing the seed about wild swimming. He's missed out so much this past year, including on his swimming lessons, that I really feel I want to get him back out there splashing about!

He's also got a bit of eczema which I put down to stress just now and I reckon a good swim in the sea would help sort that out.

I want to do it, I want my eldest to do it but I won't lie, I'm sitting all wrapped up in a woollen polo neck complete with a padded jacket and I'm freezing.

So what chance do I have of wild swimming or even paddling by the Porty prom? I need some convincing before I commit to giving it a go that once you're in you don't go in to full shock.

And hopefully you feel the benefits fairly soon because I can't imagine it being pleasant – and yet so many seem to be doing it.

While I was sitting, chatting about it, my eldest convinced me to get my shoes and socks off and go in for a foot splash – I lasted 30 seconds...

So go on, convince me that it's worth it because I feel like I'm missing out on something!

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