A cold water swimming group in Co Antrim that started with just one or two members has grown massively in recent years.
As more and more people pick up the hobby as a New Years resolution, members of the Carrickfergus Bluetits have spoken about what they love about swimming.
A steady group of around 20 people head to Fisherman's Quay in the town each day of the year, and have said it's a great way to start the day with a clear mind.
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Elspeth Turner-Warke first tried her hand at cold water swimming ten years ago with a New Year's dip. She took on the challenge to kick start the year with the Slimming World group she is a consultant for.
After about three years of doing this challenge every New Year's Day, Elspeth said the group began to get tired of it so she was about to hang up her swimsuit, when one of the girls plucked up the courage to say she wanted to do it.
This resulted in more and more people wanting to come along and join, and eventually led to the formation of the Carrickfergus Bluetits. The group is for people of all ages interested in cold water swimming.
"I've been doing this for ten years now. I originally started with the New Year dip. I'm a slimming world consultant, and it was about getting the members into the water to do this 'let it all go, the past is past, fresh start, new year'," Elspeth told Belfast Live.
"I started doing that with them, then after about three years, I said I wasn't going to do the dip anymore as the members were getting a bit fed up, then one of the girls plucked up the courage to say she was ready to do it. A few more friends asked if they could come too."
After breaking her ankle and being unable to get into their regular swimming spot at Jordanstown, Elspeth moved things down the road to Fisherman's Quay in her hometown of Carrickfergus, and more people began to get involved with the group.
She said: "The group grew and grew, we met once a week, then twice a week. The bluetits is a worldwide group, so I applied to them and asked if we could be a group in Carrickfergus, because at that point there was only one other group in Northern Ireland applying for it, and we both got the status at the same time."
The group has now grown to have 1,300 people on their Facebook page, with a regular group of around 20 swimmers who meet each morning for a swim, year round. When the warmer weather arrives, from around spring onwards, the numbers attending the daily swims steadily increases.
As well as their daily swims, the Bluetits also have special events such as sunrise dips and moonlight dips. At a recent event alongside another group, the Antrim Chilli Dippers, around 70 people enjoyed the water up at Lough Neagh.
Elspeth said a big attraction of cold water swimming, and why she believes it's a great year-round activity, is that it clears your mind.
"When you enter the water, the whole weight of the world just floats away," she added.
"We have a lot of health professionals here who are under huge amounts of stress, and just everybody with their own mental health pressures, they use it for their escapism. You can get away from everything for just half an hour to an hour.
"It's the whole camaraderie of the group too, and the friendships I see building, I get emotional every time I think about it.
"It just makes my heart sing that what started off as one or two of us, has now grown to be so big. We're here everyday, then we do wee day trips too.
"It's the older members that really appreciate that. They've maybe been isolated at home during coronavirus, but now have a group to be part of."
You can find out more about the Carrickfergus Bluetits on their Facebook page by clicking here.
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