1. Definition: Wild or Open water swimming - the practice or activity of swimming for pleasure in natural waters, typically rivers and lakes.
What I remember as my very first experience of ‘Wild’ or ‘Open water' swimming was on the east coast beach of North Berwick, a popular tourist spot only 28 miles from Edinburgh.
North Berwick was, and is, a perfect spot for families wanting a day out by the sea. There are long sandy beaches, plenty of rock pools, an excellent fish and chip shop, and a large tidal pool. The downside is that it's in Scotland on the east coast, the sea is always cold, even in the middle of August, and a freezing north wind can blow straight off the Forth.
When I was a child, we would visit North Berwick every summer and run gaily into the pool, only to remember two seconds into the water that the place was colder than winter in the Arctic, but we were young and that didn’t matter. My sister and I would splash about merrily and vigorously, slowly going blue, until our mum called us out and we shivered under towels trying to get warm while eating sandy sandwiches. Overall, it was a great day out and repeated every year.
However, that wasn’t my only experience of wild swimming. I grew up holidaying every year on the warm and sunny Jurassic coast of Dorset. Even now there is nowhere I enjoy swimming more than the bays of Swanage and Studland, with their sandy bottoms and warm shallow waters. Studland is home to one of the rarer marine habitats, seagrass meadows, which provides a home for the long-snouted seahorse, and short-snouted seahorse.
There are many more swimming spots along the Jurassic Coast, than just Swanage and Studland. I love plunging into the crystal-clear waters of Lulworth Cove and Worbarrow Bay. It’s hard not to feel closer to nature when you swim in the sea, you can feel the seaweed tangling against your legs and watch shoals of fish dart through swaying kelp. Hearing the cry of gulls or the piping of oystercatchers is far preferable to the echoing shouts of an indoor pool, with its eye-watering smell of chlorine.
While I had always swum in the sea during my holidays in Dorset, I hadn’t actively chosen to swim in other spots around Britain. Wild swimming has of course become extremely popular in the last few years, with groups popping up all over the place, and cosy post swimming paraphernalia to go with them.
Three years ago, an old friend gave me The Art of Wild Swimming, Scotland for my birthday, which fuelled my enthusiasm to swim in more places than Dorset. Eagerly I messaged her asking if she would join me, the answer was a definite no. Not put off I bought my first wetsuit (essential for northern swimming, or any swimming before June as far as I’m concerned), and a dry robe (because they looked so cosy), looked up safety tips for wild swimming alone, and read Roger Deakin’s Waterlog while I waited for an opportunity to take the plunge.
Waterlog is a fantastic book for anyone who wants to learn more about Britain’s rivers, lakes, tarns and coast. For me, Roger Deakin conjured an almost nostalgic view of wild swimming, plunging into dark pools and later drying on grassy banks in the sunshine (something that I could never do in Scotland without a really hot summer), while listening to birdsong and waiting for fish to leap in the river.
Now, a few years later, I have managed to broaden my swimming locations and each of them have given me the opportunity to see more of the natural world that lives its life on, and in, our seas and rivers.
Beadnell Bay, Northumberland
Beadnell Bay is a few miles from Seahouses, on the Northeast coast of Northumberland. The long stretch of sand, that runs from Beadnell to High Newton, is a beautiful place to swim, it is shallow and sandy, with crystal clear waters on a calm day. I have swum there twice, both at the Beadnell end and at High Newton, there is a tranquillity to the place, where you can float in the water and watch Oystercatchers fly overhead.
Beadnell Harbour is the only west-facing harbour on that section of the east coast, and its protected sandy bay is not only beautiful to swim in, but it is also home to around 5,000 breeding Arctic Terns during the summer months. The Terns nest close to Long Nanny Burn, the shingle sand making a perfect camouflage for the chicks. This area is looked after by the National Trust, and if you do wish to visit, remember to keep to the paths, follow the signs, and keep any dogs on leads to avoid disturbing the birds.
Bamburgh, Northumberland
A few miles further north than Beadnell, Bamburgh beach is a spectacular place for a walk on a windy day. Huge waves crash onto the sand and gulls skim across the white peaks that are whipped up by the wind. On a calm day it’s a beautiful swimming spot, where you can drift through the water beneath the shadow of Bamburgh Castle. The sea never seems to warm up at Bamburgh, like Beadnell it stays cold no matter what month you are in.
Not far off the coast from Bamburgh are the Farne Isles, a group of around twenty islands that are home to thousands of nesting seabirds, including puffins, eiders, razorbills, gulls, and shags. It’s also an important pupping site for Atlantic Seals, with around 2,000 pups born there each Autumn. Bamburgh itself is a great place to spot birds during the spring and autumn migrations, birds to look out for include godwit, sandpipers and sanderling.
Glen Derry, Cairngorms
Glen Derry is my only experience, so far, of swimming in a Scottish river, and it was freezing! I had the opportunity while out wild camping with a friend in the Cairngorms, it had been a hot day, and we were both sweaty after a long walk carrying our rucksacks out to Glen Derry. We’d already paddled across the Luibeg Burn about three times, which had been cold, but refreshing.
Sitting by the riverbank around 7pm that evening I was struck by an impulse to swim, here was my chance to experience Scottish river swimming, and what better place than surrounded by the imposing hills and ancient woodland of the Cairngorms. The water was icy cold, and it took me ages to finally go in above my waist, my friend sat on the bank, paddling and calling out encouragement. In the end I managed half a dozen strokes through the water and back, then climbed out and ran about on the grass to warm up. I didn’t feel properly warm again until 7am the next morning, but it was worth it.
The Cairngorms National Park is home to several rivers and lochs, including the Spey and Dee, as well Loch Morlich and Loch Avon, and are considered to be some of the cleanest water in Europe. They are home to a variety of wildlife, including otters, Atlantic salmon, and the endangered freshwater pearl mussel.
The weather in the Scottish Highlands can change very quickly, so if you are considering walking and swimming in these hills be sure to research the area, map your route, check the weather, tell someone where you are going, and take the right equipment, as well as checking for any restrictions in place to protect wildlife.
Cromer, Norfolk
My swim at Cromer, on the east coast of Norfolk, came at the end of a very long walk. Seven days previously a friend and I had begun the Peddar’s Way and Norfolk Coastal path at Knettishall Heath, far inland. Now, a week later, we had walked through the fields of Norfolk, and around the coastline, to arrive at Cromer. Taking a plunge into the sea at Cromer beach seemed like the perfect end to the walk. The water was a little murky, probably due to the windier weather we had experienced near the end of the week, but it was a lovely place to swim.
Norfolk has the most incredible coastline for birds, only two days walk up the coast from Cromer, at the Cley and Salthouse Marshes, I spotted Spoonbills, Marsh Harrier, Avocet, Godwits, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, and Curlews. In 2023, Spoonbill fledglings were recorded in the Norfolk Broads, this was the first known breeding of these birds in Britain for around 400 years.
Wild swimming is a wonderful way to experience the outdoors, and the natural world, but remember if you are planning to take the plunge make all the relevant safety checks before you venture out, and never take risks in swimming somewhere that might be dangerous or out of your depth.
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