The Wandering Selkie

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I'm so happy to introduce you to my friend and fellow sea lover Helen Armstrong, aka The Wandering Selkie.  Photographer, outdoor swimmer and advocate for joy, and playful living.  Celebrating Ireland, being active outdoors, and most importantly, the community and the connections that come with it.

Selkies are found in Celtic and Norse mythology (also silkie, sylkie, selchie) or selkie folk, meaning seal folk.  Selkies are mythological beings, capable of therianthropy, changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin.  The seal people, once upon the shore, were said to have danced in the moonlight.  Sadly, after this, the selkie story usually has darker, tragic aspects.  Sometimes they fall in love and give their seal skin willingly to their partner to store away safely, or it’s taken from them.  Either way, when their seal skin is taken away, the selkie loses their identity, their power and is trapped in human form. 

Helen told me "When I slip into the water, I get a feeling of being at home.  (Maybe after the initial, “Why do I do this?" questioning phase as you wade out).  I feel in my element in the sea, relaxed, at peace and at ease.  Feeling held by the water, enjoying feeling small as I float and look out to the wide horizon.  Being immersed in nature, feeling the cold tingle my skin, the wind or rain on my face.  Cloud watching.  Bird watching.  Listening to the movement of the water, or squeals and shouts of swimmers on their way in!  Seeing the popularity of outdoor swimming rocket during the pandemic & the almost universally positive effect on new swimmers, shows that the benefits are undeniable."

Starting in July 2020, I began a daily dipping challenge and finished 365 daily dips in July 2021.  I’d had a private account until then, but changed to public to connect with the swim community and share my swims & adventures.  That’s when The Wandering Selkie was created.  Lockdown travel restrictions lifted during the challenge and I delighted in the freedom again to roam to dip in other wild waters, at different spots along the coastline, inland at loughs and mountain waterfalls."

You can connect with Helen on Instagram and share her adventures.

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