Beat the heat with our guide to the top wild swimming spots across the UK

Beat the heat with our guide to the top wild swimming spots across the UK


We have waved goodbye to lockdown and the timing could not have been improved (or worse, relying on how you see it) as temperatures soared.

Beach locations have been packed and pools, lidos and leisure centres booked up, but some of the country’s most gorgeous areas for wild swimming remained principally the maintain of those people in the know.

So get completely ready for the next heatwave with our information to the best spots to choose a dip — but constantly workout warning and verify that the drinking water circumstances are safe.

Coniston H2o, Cumbria

From five-mile-long Coniston Drinking water you can discover Peel Island and spy John Ruskin’s house

Go river deep and mountain significant in Coniston. From five-mile-long Coniston H2o you can discover Peel Island (the inspiration for Wild Cat Island in Swallows and Amazons), spy John Ruskin’s property (he once explained, ‘there is no these types of thing as terrible temperature, only diverse types of good weather’) and to the west, 2,600ft of The Previous Person of Coniston (the identify will come from a Celtic phrase meaning Superior Stones). Pack a picnic and do not pass up the beautiful tarn Goat’s Water.

Stay: B&B doubles at The Coniston Inn from £149 (inncollectiongroup.com/coniston-inn, 0191 580 3610).

The Thames, Clifton Hampden, Oxon

The River Thames at Clifton Hampden, where the scenery is rich and beautiful, according to writer Jerome K Jerome

The River Thames at Clifton Hampden, exactly where the landscapes is wealthy and stunning, in accordance to author Jerome K Jerome

With a village backdrop of immaculate thatched cottages, this relaxed, inviting stretch of the Thames has a great deal of micro- shorelines. In 3 Guys In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome wrote that ‘the river landscapes is wealthy and beautiful’ there.

Keep: The Plough B&B, Clifton Hampden, from £78 (ploughbnb.com, 01865 409976). 

Loch Etive, Glencoe, Scotland

Loch Etive is so serene you won't know which half is the reflection in your photographs

Loch Etive is so serene you will not know which 50 percent is the reflection in your pictures

Guarded by mountains, the large and a lot-cherished Loch Etive is so serene you will never know which half is the reflection in your images. Somewhere else, dip into the 20 miles of river, with its deep canyons of glassy h2o, or soar from the cliffs to make a even bigger splash. Keep in close by Taynuilt and choose in Tralee Seaside, also.

Stay: B&B doubles at Taynuilt Inn from £110 (taynuiltinn.com, 01866 822437).  

Fritton Lake, Wonderful Yarmouth, Norfolk

You will be sharing this corner of 1,000 acres, which is section of the Somerleyton Estate, with ‘wildstock’ cattle, pigs, deer and drinking water buffalo, all as component of an ambitious rewilding venture. Stay in the clubhouse or a plush cabin (with incredibly hot tub for stargazing) and glide all over the two miles of peaceful lake (new this year is a floating sauna), though no person will judge you if you choose the heated 22m pool.

Remain: B&B doubles at Fritton Lake from £160, two evenings least (frittonlake.co.british isles, 01493 484008). 

River Wye, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire

By the River Wye in Herefordshire there is a top glamping spot with hot showers and an outdoor cinema

By the River Wye in Herefordshire there is a major glamping spot with hot showers and an outside cinema

Appreciate your possess river seaside and peaceful swimming just a number of techniques from your large tipi, glamping (with very hot showers, barbecues and an outdoor cinema) in an apple orchard on a performing farm by the river Wye. Your hosts can even organise a night time swim with a regional information.

Continue to be: B&B doubles at White Residence on Wye from £169 for every evening (whitehouseonwye.co.united kingdom, 07849 621669). 

River Rawthey, Sedbergh, Cumbria

4 rivers operate as a result of this valley in the Yorkshire Dales Countrywide Park, at the foot of the Howgill Fells. Accompany a local swimming manual on the Rawthey really don’t miss out on the deep pool in the Akay woods with a waterfall, and the pool at Uldale Power.

Remain: Doubles at the Black Bull in Sedbergh from £139 (theblackbullsedbergh.co.united kingdom, 015396 20264)  

Walpole Bay Tidal Pool, Cliftonville, Margate

Walpole Bay Tidal Pool in Margate, which was built in the 1930s, is one of only 13 in England

Walpole Bay Tidal Pool in Margate, which was constructed in the 1930s, is just one of only 13 in England

Perfect for swimmers who like a dip in the briny, this 1930s Quality II-shown seawater pool is one particular of only 13 in England. It is fully submerged by the tide and so refilled with seawater twice a day. The pool is perfectly positioned on the Queen’s Promenade and spans four acres. Restorative fish and chips are in just straightforward arrive at, also.

Remain: B&B doubles at Cliftonville Town House from £99 (cliftonvilletownhouse.com, 01843 228 164). 

River Dove, Ellastone, Peak District

Handel is mentioned to have begun composing his Drinking water Songs when he was being near Ellastone, and George Eliot was impressed to create Adam Bede when sitting on the Dove’s banking institutions. Wallow in the shallows upstream close to Norbury Church, then check out the pools and rapids.

Remain: B&B doubles at The Dunscombe Arms from £170 (duncombearms.co.british isles, 01767 650764). 

Port Isaac Bay, Cornwall 

Take a session with a swim guide to improve your open-water skills at the sheltered beach of Port Gaverne

Take a session with a swim guideline to strengthen your open-h2o competencies at the sheltered beach of Port Gaverne

Port Gaverne is a sheltered beach front in close proximity to Port Isaac, where Doc Martin is filmed. Just take a session with a swim guideline (offered from their beachside business) to strengthen your open-drinking water expertise, then hold your toughness up with refreshing Cornish crab from Port Isaac.

Keep: Doubles at the Slipway Hotel from £165 (portisaachotel.com, 01208 880264).  

Rosebush Quarry, Preseli Hills, Pembrokeshire

This secluded freshwater lagoon in the Preseli Hills of Pembrokeshire National Park was at first dug as a pit and is so famously ‘fresh’ that regional chilly-h2o swimming clubbers break the ice to enter it. Continue to be community and discover the sandy seashores at Barafundle or Broadhaven, and the waterfall in Ffynone Wood.

Stay: B&B doubles at The Mill, Rhosfach, from £385 for a few nights (qualitycottages.co.uk, 01348 837871). 

The River Nene, Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire

The River Nene in Northamptonshire is a top spot for experienced swimmers, especially the two-and-a-half-mile stretch from Cotterstock to Fotheringhay via Tansor

The River Nene in Northamptonshire is a prime location for skilled swimmers, primarily the two-and-a-50 percent-mile extend from Cotterstock to Fotheringhay via Tansor

The two-and-a-half-mile stretch from Cotterstock to Fotheringhay by using Tansor is a gorgeous one for skilled swimmers. 

Other individuals can take pleasure in Fotheringhay, in close proximity to the castle the place Mary Queen of Scots satisfied her conclude, where by you can camp and also swim in the non-public river.

Stay: Fotheringhay Castle Farm camping from £8 for each grownup (fotheringhaycastlefarm.co.british isles, 07976958452). 



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