A morning at the beach

We packed into the car, hats, coats, gloves and dog and set off to Camber Sands, a long stetch of sand on the south coast.  The temperature was not high (around 7°C feeling like 3) and the sea and sky held a steely light but it felt good to get out in some fresh air.  Now l have to say this; after all my years of living in England l  become more convinced that there is a masochistically mad streak lurking in the soul of some English people - there were people in swimming!  Why?  What is the reason to swim in temps of an optimistic 7°?
The dog was sensible - he put one paw in and then turned around and walked back to the sand.