Andrea loves wild swimming and there are many places in the North of England where it's excellent to do so. The problem is, that the water is almost invariably very cold, and this really limits the amount of time that you can spend swimming, even if you're wearing a decent wetsuit.

So, Andrea ordered a made-to-measure semidry suit from Waterproof of Sweden. Don't ask how much it cost, but it has fully waterproof seams, neoprene seals at the ankles, wrists and neck, a spine pad and lots of other cool features. It really is fantastic.

Having arrived only a few weeks ago, this was the time to take it for its first swim (and a bit of mud along the way). Andrea drove to the local river and waded deeper and deeper into the floodwater pools that adorn its banks. Her feet got wet but the rest of her did not. She splashed, and swam and really enjoyed herself. After 30minutes in the water she was still warm and mostly dry. Even the full length front zip let minimal water into the suit, thanks to the double neoprene flaps inside it.

She was so warm in fact that, despite a water temperature of about 5degC, that she took off her wading boots and neoprene socks and enjoyed squelching barefoot through the deep mud in the field gateways. There's nothing like mud between your bare toes, even if it's freezing cold!

Did the new semidry suit live up to its name of being waterproof? Well, put it this way, all she was wearing beneath it was a pair of grey bikini bottoms and in places they were clearly dry when she took the suit off.