One of my earliest memories of river swimming is in the upper reaches of the River Swale in Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales. It was a hot summer day and I remember my mum and grandma lugging our big blue cool box and bundles of blankets and towels through narrow stiles and across fields， past grazing sheep. With my brother and sister—and two dogs in tow—it must have been the school holidays， a day out in the Dales to keep us occupied as the weeks of what seemed like endless summer holiday stretched ahead.

說到下河游泳，我最早的記憶里有一段是在約克郡谷地斯韋爾代爾的斯韋爾河上游。那是個炎炎夏日，我記得媽媽和奶奶費勁地拽著我們家的藍色大冷藏箱，上面還放著扎成捆的毛巾和毯子。她們一路走過狹窄的臺階，穿過田野，路過一群正吃著青草的羊。我和弟弟妹妹同行，后面還跟著兩條狗，想必那時正值學校放假。即將到來的幾周暑假好似漫漫無期，谷地一日游讓我們有了點事干。

When we talk of river swimming we often think of big rivers and long swims： challenges like the Dart 10k， the Thames Marathon and the Bantham Swoosh are all bucket list swims for UK swimmers. One of my favorite river swims ever was the Little Red Lighthouse 10k in New York in the River Hudson. But swimming is more than distance and challenge， it is playtime， setting aside our daily worries and cares， reconnecting with nature and ourselves.

每每提到下河游泳，我們腦海中浮現(xiàn)的往往是在大河中長距離游泳，諸如達特河十公里賽、泰晤士河馬拉松游泳賽、班特姆河速游賽之類的都是英國游泳者夢想?yún)⒓拥谋荣?。我最喜歡的河泳比賽之一是紐約州哈德孫河的小紅燈塔十公里賽。然而，游泳不僅關(guān)乎距離和挑戰(zhàn)，還是一段娛樂時光，可以讓我們暫時忘卻生活中的煩惱和憂慮，重建與自然和自我的連接。

I can still feel the cool water that pushed against my body as my brother and I played in the river on that summer day 40-odd years ago. The Swale is Britain’s fastest flowing river but as the young river1 tumbles down Swaledale from its source there are rapids and small waterfalls to play in. We pushed against the current， holding on to cold and slippy rocks， as my sister played in the shallows， our skin the colour of tea in the peaty water. No doubt there were cheese and onion sandwiches for our picnic lunch on the grass by the river， spread out on our massive picnic blanket that was always covered in sand and dog hair， watched over by beady-eyed2 sheep.

四十多年前的那個夏日，我和弟弟在河水中嬉戲玩鬧，清涼的河水拍打著我的身體，那種感覺至今記憶猶新。斯韋爾河是英國流速最快的河流。這條幼年期河流從源頭奔流而下穿過斯韋爾代爾，形成數(shù)條湍流和多個小瀑布。我們逆著水流，緊緊抓住冰冷濕滑的巖石，妹妹則在淺灘玩耍。河中泥水把我們的皮膚染成茶色。毫無疑問，我們中午在河邊草地上的野餐必然有奶酪洋蔥三明治。我們把三明治擺在總是沾有沙子與狗毛的巨大野餐毯上，惹得羊群睜大眼睛盯著看。

While you might not want to eat cheese and onion sandwiches on a dog hair-covered blanket， playing around in the shallows of our smaller rivers is a happy way to spend some time thinking of nothing but the present. Especially in a summer heatwave， why not follow your local river to its upper reaches where the water is cooler？ Rapids and waterfalls， sudden deep pools where you can lazily float as the sunshine dapples through the trees， explore how reconnecting with playtime makes you feel.

或許你并不愿意坐在沾著狗毛的野餐毯上吃奶酪洋蔥三明治，但在我們這邊小河的淺灘上玩耍是一種令人愉悅的消遣方式，能讓我們除了當下，什么都不用想。尤其是在暑氣逼人的夏日，為何不沿著當?shù)氐暮恿魉萘鞫希ジ惺苌嫌胃忧鍥龅暮铀?？湍流、瀑布，還有不期而遇的深潭，就在陽光穿過樹葉，投下斑駁光影之時，你可以懶洋洋地漂浮在水面上，細細品味重拾娛樂時光是何種感受。

My local river in Cumbria， the Kent， and its tributaries likewise affords many opportunities for play： from death-defying leaps into deep pools to waterfall jacuzzi tubs （which in the winter are bone-bitingly cold） and short deep stretches where you can swim into the current and not get very far at all！ This month I challenge you to forget your Garmin3， tow float and training plan and to just dick about in the shallows for an hour. Cheese and onion sandwiches are optional！

我家鄉(xiāng)坎布里亞郡的肯特河及其數(shù)條支流也給我們提供了許多玩耍的好去處。人們可以舍命縱身躍入深譚，可以坐進瀑布下的“按摩浴缸”（但在冬天會冰寒徹骨），還可以在不長的深水區(qū)順流游泳，根本不必擔心游得太遠！本月，我邀請你摘掉運動手表，扔掉拖拽浮漂，忘掉訓練計劃，在淺灘隨便撲騰一個小時。至于是否要吃奶酪洋蔥三明治，全由你選擇！

（譯者單位：湖北省宜都市第一中學）

1河流地貌發(fā)育的幼年期，總體特點是侵蝕強烈，河流以下切侵蝕（包括溯源侵蝕）為主，河谷深，地表起伏大。 2 beady-eyed機警地盯著的；目光銳利的。

3此處以知名智能穿戴品牌“佳明”來指代智能運動手表。