From experiencing intense anxiety which stopped her from leaving the house for months, to working as crew and sailing 7,000 miles on sailing boats; cold water swimming has been a life-changing tool for freelance writer Lydia Paleschi to manage her mental health.

Father Christmas’s arrival is only days away (eek, who can believe it!?) and with this magical time of year comes the modern tradition of a festive cold dip. We’ve compiled a list of Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year swims happening around Cornwall so that you can swap your pjs for a pair of trusty swimmers!

Free-diving is the practice of, and ability to, hold your breath while diving underwater with zero breathing apparatus aids, travelling only as far as your lungs will take you. The closest we humans come to being mermaids!

Becky Gribble loves sport, ever since she could walk and talk it was her driver. From a young age, she was catching unaccompanied international flights to various sporting events, clutching her ticket in one hand, and her dreams in the other. "I was a bit of a nightmare for sports to be honest, anything I could do; I did.

Year after year we shift with the seasons, adjusting to new climates and ways of life, a process of which can be very draining. So, how can we make this transition more peaceful? One where we aren’t waking blurry-eyed and groggy, but instead starting the day feeling invigorated? Embracing change is never straightforward, but we hope these tips make it that little bit easier.

Swimming has been around since the beginning of time, with folklore and cave drawings recording how the earliest humans found pleasure, food and survival from the water. As the human race evolved, our love of swimming transcended with it. In this latest article from the Elixir Series, we take a deep dive into some of the country’s most prominent and historic sites, where you’re guaranteed to find love at first lido.

Imagine travelling to the world’s most remote villages, immersing yourself in unique cultures and customs while learning from the most extraordinary people, becoming storytellers on four-wheels, finding peace in forgotten hot springs that make you feel you’re the only ones left on earth, and documenting every step of the journey; from the rust to the remarkable.

Summer brings with it the promise of warmth, joy, sunshine, spontaneity and endless possibility. However, it’s easy to get swept up in the busyness of everyday life and forget to truly make the most of all that this radiant season has to offer. We’ve found the best way to make the most of the sunshiny days, and fall in love with summer again, is to be a tourist in your own town… Here’s how you do it.

Welcome to the Elixir Series, a space where we’ll be sharing all the wonders of the outdoors, from the best surf spots in Wales to the charming lidos that lie within cityscapes, a place to come when you crave adventure but don’t know where to go next.

If you have wound up here it’s safe to say you’re probably looking to invest in a high-quality changing robe but aren’t sure where to begin. Good news is, we have narrowed it down to the top 10 essential features to look for, so you can stop searching and instead focus on doing what you love whilst staying dry, warm and comfortable.

Clinical nutritionist, entrepreneur, athlete, avid sea-swimmer, mother, wife, fitness expert and coach; Ariane is an ocean full of knowledge and someone we’ve been looking forward to talking to for a while.

Cold water therapy, otherwise known as hydrotherapy or cold immersion therapy, is the process of submerging the body into cold water (temperatures lower than 15 degrees) in order to heal, stimulate and revitalise the body, mind and soul.