Help please! Cornwall swimming in October!

[Swimfiend]

Please help before I potentially waste a lot of money.

havent been away this year and am desperate for a holiday. Have managed to find a couple of places and time off early October in Cornwall. I love swimming though and am desperate to be in the sea.

would the first (possibly second week) of October be too cold for swimming do you think? Looking to go around Penzance way…

You will be fine swimming in the sea in October. My mother swims in the Irish Sea all year round she is near 80. They do say the sea is warmer in winter. Get yourself a good dry robe.

Depends on whether or not you spend time in cooler water in general.
i swim outdoors all year round in just my swimming costume and October is pretty mild to me. But if you’re not used to it it can be unpleasant! Potentially dangerous if you go into shock (unlikely at October temps but not unheard of, where I go people start getting into wetsuits around now).

Doesn’t it depend on your tolerance levels? We were in Cornwall (south) at the end of last October and all the local hardy types were out doing their morning swims very happily (weather was lovely and mild). If you usually swim in the Med in August, I imagine it’s a bit more of a shock.

Well, it's never too cold really, I swim all year in Ireland and love it. But it might be too cold for you to enjoy?

I am worried about cold water shock! I do have membership to my unheated lido so I was planning to keep doing that until I go.

I think the coldest I’ve swum in is about 17/18 degrees which I did find manageable but quite hard! Is first week of October likely to be a lot colder than that??

People do do it all year round (but they will have acclimatised).
But no, it shouldn't be too cold in early October. Early spring is the worst.
They swim off Battery Rocks in PZ- I think there's a group called the Battery Belles (and Buoys).
There's also the Jubilee Pool- a massive seawater Lido on the prom- but I don't know when it closes for the winter.

https://www.seatemperature.org/europe/united-kingdom/penzance-october.htm

scroll down and look at the bar chart, Oct not too bad

Find the local Bluetits (usually on FB) and go in with them, they will welcome you and you get the security of people with you. Wouldn’t go in on my own, not for sea swimming anyway.

Yes. It is likely to be colder than that. Cold water shock is very unlikely if you're sensible

The sea cools down slower than the land so it won't be too cold. You can get neoprene swimsuits which are a bit warmer than a normal suit but not as restrictive as a wetsuit and not as expensive as a proper swimming wetsuit.

try here , it’s the outdoor Lido in Penzance! I love it 🏊

https://jubileepool.co.uk

Here’s a different chart, which will take a while to be approved.
When I have seen people swimming in the sea off East Anglia (not in school holidays) in the life guarded areas when the temperature was 16C they have all been wearing wetsuits.
The Tesco there had stocks of wetsuits at half price in September 2023.

Bear in mind that there are loads of Boxing Day/ New Year's Day swims down here, with crowds of hungover muppets in Santa hats or tutus or what have you (wetsuits usually frowned upon) all charging into the sea whooping, and they all survive, so...🤷‍♀️

As someone who swims in the North Sea year round and goes to Devon/Cornwall every October I can tell you the Atlantic feels positively tropical in comparison! If you’re used to cold water swimming you’ll be fine.