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EPISODE 2— LAC DE VOUGLANS (ORGELET, FRANCE)

“The Lake With Villages Beneath It”

Welcome to MYSWIMBATICAL a slow journey through some of the most beautiful lakes in the Alpine Region of Europe.

Today I’m in eastern France, in the Jura region, standing beside a long, quiet body of water that doesn’t look dramatic at first glance — but carries deep memory beneath its surface. This is Lac de Vouglans. A lake that didn’t exist a century ago. A lake formed by human decision, and slowly softened by nature.

This is a place where forests meet water in long, folded arms, and where the surface hides entire lost landscapes.

History & Hidden Stories, Nature & Geography, and what its like to swim in a Lake that was created in the 1960s when the Ain River was dammed to generate hydroelectric power. As the water rose, villages were evacuated, homes dismantled, and churches abandoned. Fields disappeared. Roads ended abruptly in water. Locals still tell stories of church steeples appearing in drought years, like the lake itself remembering what was here before.

If you enjoy quiet adventure, open water, creative projects, or simply watching someone enjoying life one lake at a time, you’re very welcome to follow along.

This is MYSWIM.
And This is the My SWIMBATICAL.
Let’s see where it goes.

o Website: www.MYSWIM.uk

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An introduction to the Alpine Lakes SWIMBATICAL

What is it? , where is it? And why now?

I’ve always been someone who follows my curiosity — sometimes on impulse, sometimes with a spreadsheet, and occasionally with a level of planning that makes my family nervous. That mix has taken me to some odd places over the years: running across deserts, cycling across countries, and swimming through channels, lakes, and straits that most people sensibly admire from dry land.

I never set out to “collect” challenges. They just kept appearing — the English Channel, Lake Zurich, the Strait of Gibraltar, Catalina, Manhattan Island, Lake Constance, the Sea of Galilee, Bonifacio, Windermere, and a long list of swims that started with “it might be fun if…” and ended with “well, that was bigger than expected.”

But lately, I’ve felt a different pull. Not towards something harder — just something… deeper. Slower. More creative. More curious.

So I’m taking a break from the desk and heading off on a SWIMBATICAL — a season of lakes, travel, sketching, filming, swimming, and seeing what happens when I stop rushing from one big thing to the next.

It’s not a race.

It’s not a record attempt.

It’s just me, wandering around Europe with goggles, a notebook, and a slightly over‑packed vW camper for a season of lakes, creativity, and intentional adventure.

Travel, swim, sketch, film, write.

If you enjoy quiet adventure, open water, creative projects, or simply watching someone enjoying life one lake at a time, you’re very welcome to follow along.

This is MYSWIM.

And This is the My SWIMBATICAL.

Let’s see where it goes.

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Welcome back to the MYSWIM podcast and Today we’re heading east to Japan ;a country where water isn’t just part of the landscape, it’s part of the culture, the rituals, the food, the cities, and the spirit of everyday life. We explore ocean 7 beast that is the Tsugaru.

I have just returned from a journey through Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka, and the mountains and lakes in between and everywhere we went, water shaped the experience. From ancient onsens to urban rivers, from mountain lakes to coastal breezes, Japan is a swimmer’s dream in ways you don’t expect.”so let’s explore it. Welcome to the my swim podcast