Home - Frog Mom

Home
Outdoors
OUTDOORS

Hi, I’m Frog Mom a.k.a Laure Latham. The “Frog” in Frog Mom comes from my being French but also from my love for nature. I have two daughters born in 2003 and 2005 and I’ve taken them on outdoors adventures since they were babies.
Travel
TRAVEL

Hi, I’m Frog Mom a.k.a Laure Latham. The “Frog” in Frog Mom comes from my being French but also from my love for nature. I have two daughters born in 2003 and 2005 and I’ve taken them on outdoors adventures since they were babies.
- Europe
  - Croatia
  - Iceland
  - Ireland
  - Estonia
  - France
    
    Brittany
    
    Languedoc-Roussillon
  - Finland
  - Greece
  - Latvia
  - Malta
  - Norway
  - Spain
  - Switzerland
  - UK
    
    Devon
    
    Lake District
    
    London
    
    Peak District
    
    Scotland
    
    Wales
- Asia
  - Australia
  - Cambodia
  - China
  - Indonesia
  - Japan
- National Parks
- United States
  - California
  - Florida
  - Nevada
  - New England
  - New York
- Mountains
Family
FAMILY

Hi, I’m Frog Mom a.k.a Laure Latham. The “Frog” in Frog Mom comes from my being French but also from my love for nature. I have two daughters born in 2003 and 2005 and I’ve taken them on outdoors adventures since they were babies.
- Inspiration
Food
Recipes

Hi, I’m Frog Mom a.k.a Laure Latham. The “Frog” in Frog Mom comes from my being French but also from my love for nature. I have two daughters born in 2003 and 2005 and I’ve taken them on outdoors adventures since they were babies.
Shop
About

Outdoors

Ice Swimming in the Arctic Circle...

Changing into your swimsuit on the beach is usually fine, but when the sand is covered […]

Swimmer getting in Rydal Water, Lake District, on a misty autumn morning.

Outdoors

Rydal, Lake District: Swimming, Hiking, and William Wordsworth

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Rydal in the Lake District, England’s mountain lakes national park, is a […]

Scenic train at the platform in lush tropical countryside

Travel

#SlowTravel by Train: How to Green your Transport...

If you love travel, nature and the outdoors, #slowtravel by train might just be the […]

Violife vegan cheese ad with selection of vegan cheese alternatives.

Food

Violife Vegan Cheese Review

AD | This is a sponsored post to review Violife Cheese products. All opinions are […]

image-tab

image-tab

image-tab

Recipes

Popular recipes

more-recipes

Popular Tags

nature-3191091_640

Inspiration

20 Outdoor Influencers on Twitter

Travel

Search for the Ghost Airfield of Butano State Park

Camping Packing List

Nature

Family Camping Packing Check List (Free Printable)

Activities

DIY Rockets for Kids

frogmomblog

How do you #swim when it's bitingly cold outside a

How do you #swim when it's bitingly cold outside and there's #snow on the ground?

WARNING
Let me preface this by saying that I am used to cold water swimming and have been doing it for over 10 years. It takes a lot of time for your body to acclimatise to winter swimming and should always be done responsibly and safely. I never swim with a wetsuit and this is my regular outfit, regardless of temperature. Ice swimming is a dangerous activity that I never practice alone. I also know my limits and the signs of hypothermia, so I can get out before it's too late.

Now, SNOW ❄

We've had punishingly low temperatures in London this past week but the day it snowed, the water was actually not as cold as I thought it would be. Probably around 3C, and certainly less cold than today when it's hovering above 1.5C and the lake is iced over, with patches of snow still on the ground. Regardless, it's all extremely cold and #iceswimming territory.

Swimming in the snow means...
⏱ I don't stay long, 5 to 10 minutes tops.
⛄ I wear a nice bobble hat that keeps my head warm, because you lose a lot of heat from your head.
👣 I've got slider flip-flops at the ready when I exit, because cold feet burn.
🧥 I get dressed within 5 minutes after exiting the water, because of the after-drop factor and the fact that my body gets colder before it gets warmer.
🧣🧤🧦 I dress is so many layers, I look like Mr Puft. Winter swimming is not the time to display a fashion-forward wardrobe.
🍵 I drink a big cup of hot tea when I'm dressed, to rewarm from the inside.
🥶 Sometimes I shiver and that's fine. Shivering is my body's natural rewarming mechanism.
😁 Mostly, I always make sure it's a fun activity. If I don't enjoy it, there's no point.

What about you, how do you swim when it's cold outside?

#outdoors #Winter #Fitness #Health #extremesports

❄️🍁❄️ Winter and autumn collide in Hyde

❄️🍁❄️ Winter and autumn collide in Hyde Park, as frost and ice make an anticipated guest appearance for the first time this season, the kind of guest appearance that sucks the air out of your lungs when you get into the water at the Serpentine and get ready for your swim.

Winter swimming reveals itself in all its natural beauty. Hot tea mugs and woolie hats. Wisps of white wintry breath coming out of all human dragons' nostrils and mouths. Red glow skin and white numb toes.

I like this time of year. It might be cold outside, but it's one of the warmest seasons for camaraderie and friendship. Be careful, there's an icy spot on the ramp. Here, let me help you pull down the top in your back when you dress after your swim and you're so cold your fingers refuse to cooperate. Anybody for a cup of tea?

Winter is here and I'm looking forward to what's coming next.

#seasons #coldwaterswimming #SerpentineSwimmingClub #winter #London #wildswimming #HydePark #iceswimming #tea #outdoors #natureblogger #travelblogger #fitness #healthylifestyle #activelifestyle

Swimming in the morning mist of an autumnal day ma

Swimming in the morning mist of an autumnal day makes the moment special, coating every word spoken on the surface with a soft eerie brush, transforming the lake and mountains into a timeless scene, painted on nature's canvas, and slowly freezing into eternity before winter wraps it coldly.

"Low-anchored cloud,
Newfoundland air,
Fountain-head and source of rivers,
Dew-cloth, dream-drapery,
And napkin spread by fays;
Drifting meadow of the air,
Where bloom the daisied banks and violets,
And in whose fenny labyrinth
The bittern booms and heron wades;
Spirit of lakes and seas and rivers,—
Bear only perfumes and the scent
Of healing herbs to just men’s fields."

Mist
Henry David Thoreau - 1817-1862

When it's 5 in the morning and you get up in the d

When it's 5 in the morning and you get up in the dark, in the dorm of a mountain refugio in the Catalan Pyrenees, at 2,367m. And you try to find the pile of clothes you prepared the night before but it's buried under other stuff and, blimey, the dry bag's as loud as an airliner and you're worried you might wake up a dozen other sleepers or snorers. Regardless, you carry on and hope you just put on the right socks. Today's goal is summiting at 2,887m before sunrise around 7.30am.

Headlamp - check.
Water - check.
Compass - check.
Map - check.

Time to head out.

I never regret going out on an adventure in the dark. It's such a special feeling. It has to be tried at least once, to understand the magic of a moon shining on the mountain and lighting the (absence of) trail, just the rocks and the outline of a slope, helping guide your steps in the direction you're supposed to be going. And because you're lucky and planned it carefully, it all works out and you do summit before sunrise.

Ain't life beautiful?

#mountains #catalanpyrenees #pyrenees #estanydelapera #refúgio #catalunya #naturephotography #nightphotography #outdoors #hiking

Follow on Instagram