Cold water swimmers including sea, lakes and rivers

[TriSkiRun99]

After sea swimming regularly since May I’m hoping to carry on. Is anyone else hoping to carry on open water or sea swimming through the winter? If you fancy supporting each other and sharing hints n tips come join me. I’ve just bought some socks and neoprene hat, I’m hoping to to stay in my cossie as long as possible but I do have a wet suit if I cave.

DS watched me trying the Aldi one on and was clutching his stomach laughing at me 😂

This suddenly reappeared on my threads I'm on for some reason. I couldn't remember why I would have posted on in as I'm very much a fair weather swimmer but see I was getting desperate when pools were closed.

Actually had my first outdoor swim of the year last weekend. Tried to have puppy join us but all she wanted was to retrieve the tow floats

Hi all! Welcome Spudlet (love the name!) I’ve been struggling to hit the lake with kids in tow so been taking them supping instead. Was going to finish with a river swim but after battling upwind and upstream in 16mph winds we were all too shattered!! VERY excited about some SW France lake swimming action next week though!!!!

On the skins vs suits discussion I’m hoping to continue all year round in skins. Figure I started on Christmas Eve 21 so I’ve possibly done the coldest part?! I do wear bootees and gloves sub 10° And the lowest I’ve done is 2.6° (had to break the ice to get in!). Now I’ve rediscovered my love of actual swimming though I wonder if a quick dip will do it for me or if I’ll end up starting in a wetsuit to get a bit of distance then whipping it off for some cold water lushness ?!

I set the kids and I the challenge of swimming every day over the holidays. Going well so far!

Just returned to this thread after a couple of months. It's been busy here! Good to hear about your swims. I haven't been able to swim for the past fortnight as there's blue green algae in the Serpentine, yuckkk!!!
However, tomorrow I'm off for a tour of Devon and Cornwall swimming in as many lidos and rock pools as I can find. Hope to include Tunnels Beaches in Devon, Westwood Ho! rock pool, Bude sea pool and Shoalstone rock pool. Have also booked several lidos - will be a luxury to swim in clean water and use a proper changing room 😀

Enjoy your SW dip adventure @PuddleglumtheMarshWiggle theres some lovely bays along that north coast. If you want more local intel there’s gd FB Devon Wild Swimming group for the less busy spots. Not seen too many jellies around on East/South coast near me this year so far but there was a spate of crabs shell shedding last week in Cornwall which looked spooky but super cool in the pictures.
I’m swimming most days at 6.30-7am as it’s heavenly then been so calm, clear and much quieter on the beach before work.

I’d also suggest using the magic seaweed app and saferseas app for water quality, tides, swell etc for coastal swimming @PuddleglumtheMarshWiggle

@MermaidSwimming99 Thanks so much for the advice and tips! I did see the news item on the crab shedding, I'll definitely be wearing water shoes.
I'll look up the Wild Swimming groups, it'll be good to have some tips on the best places to swim. There's no better way to start the day than an early morning dip 😀

I had a swim in the sea at Southwold yesterday - it was lovely! Actually I had two or three, as we were at the beach all day. DS even came in to briefly join me, as did Spudpup. I was very proud of them both. DS wasn’t too sure about the waves (this is fine - he has ASD and can be a bit… erratic around water, so a bit of caution is fine by me) and Spudpup was a revelation - he’s a lab but generally isn’t a keen swimmer. He was very happy to come and join me for a doggy paddle though. Planning to go again at least once before the holidays are done!

And my new wetsuit arrived! I managed to wriggle into it (it is HOT to be wrestling with neoprene 🥵) and in my completely non-expert opinion it is a lot better then the Aldi one - it fits more closely to my armpits and back and it feels much more flexible. So when it gets cooler I will be ready! So excited to give it a go, although less
so about getting into it and out of it again 😂

Swam in Bude sea pool yesterday, absolutely glorious!

I would love to swim here.

Jubilee pool Penzance today

Puddleglum they both look incredible

I tried our local lido recently as kids aren’t allowed in the lake I swim at. It was amazing 😍

What do you all think, 3 more weeks until we get our quiet peaceful swim spots back. Everywhere is so busy at the moment.

I've managed sea dipping this week. My DCs were always diggers, but DS2's swimming has come a long way in the past year and he's wanted to go in the sea.

I do like getting my routines back in September.

I went for a post-run dip in the river today, it was lush. Had to all to myself, apart from a couple of dogs retrieving sticks a little way upstream 😊

went to Ilfracombe yesterday. Beautiful swim in the sea at Tunnels beaches. So called as you have to walk through a tunnel to get to it. Would thoroughly recommend!

Had a dip in a mid wales stream today, oh my that was absolutely freezing couldn’t keep hands in water as painful in less than minute, so so cold like peak winter sea temperatures 🥶 I think the fast flow was contributing to it despite air temp of 22c. I lasted 4mins in total 😂bit of quick breaststroke across and back.

Tested my new wetsuit yesterday - I could probably have gone in without it, but it wasn’t as warm, I’d just been running so I was tired, and mostly I just wanted to try it out. It was good - very comfy. Stayed in for 15 minutes just bobbing around. Was difficult to get it off again though 😂 And of course a family turned up just as I was trying to wiggle out of both a soggy wetsuit and my sports bra… changing robe is the next thing on my list because despite my best efforts I’m fairly sure I mooned them by accident 😳

Sounds fun @Spudlet 😄I’ve got a cheap quick dry poncho from Amazon £20 that I use daily and it’s far easier & quicker to
change under than my dry robe copy. I’m the first changed of my friends who all have the dry robe style coats. The game changer was just pull on a string vest top up from feet end & avoid a bra if it’s not essential to get home. Then I’ve got some quick dry thermal leggings so I’m covered really quickly and can whip off the towel to finish up.

@PuddleglumtheMarshWiggle nice photos, I swam there last year was a nice dip. Did you explore a few more among the Devon coast some lovely spots along the coastline. We tried out Bude pool in May but it was disappointing as bloomin heaving on a H/T weekend so had a better time at one of the coves locally instead.

I'm looking forwards to getting back into action when school goes back!

I've bought a changing robe over the holidays. There were some discounted ones in Mountain Warehouse. It's tempting to just strip under it and drive back as I am. I make sure I have loose/ elasticated clothes to wear after swimming, especially when the temperatures are lower.

So far my coat's only been used for coming back from the campsite showers 😆

Had a week out of the sea due to rough conditions but managed a dip Sat and Sunday which was nice. Interesting sea scape with lots of seabirds as big beaching of whitebait had been driven onto the coastline so there were hundreds of birds feeding quite an unusual sight. Worrying number of dead birds as well as Avian flu has hit 🙁