Devon's Lidos

We’ve compiled a bit of a list of the lidos that you can find in Devon. Hopefully we’ve got them all. There are quite a few!

ASHBURTON

smack bang in the middle of the ancient stannary town of Ashburton. 21 x 9m in size, with lovely views. You’ll need to park 5-10 minutes away from the pool but this gives you the perfect opportunity to check out lots of the independent, local shops in the town on the way through. Another pool run by fantastic volunteers, from the local community.

VIEW THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

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BOVEY TRACEY

A heated outdoor swimming pool, slightly on the smaller side, compared to most lidos…at 25 x 9m and has a smaller kids pool. Found in a very green and leafy village. Run by a team of local volunteers.

VIEW THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

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BUCKFASTLEIGH

Found on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, it’s a 21m open air, heated swimming pool. They have a cafe and ‘sunning area’.

FOOTAGE - CLICK HERE

VIEW THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

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CHAGFORD POOL

Community run pool, on the bank of the river Teign. You have a 1930s lido, filled with UV treated river water. Water temp is kept at around 27 degrees and is 34m in length.

VIEW THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

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CHUDLEIGH SWIMMING POOL

A registered charity and community project. Chudleigh is a 4 lane, 20m pool, heated at 28 degrees through the summer season.

VIEW THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

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CLYST HYDON SWIMMING POOL

A small pool, full of character. Run by volunteers. This is an unheated outdoor pool, in a gorgeous part of the world.

VIEW THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

FACEBOOK PAGE - CLICK HERE

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CORNWALL HOUSE OUTDOOR POOL

Part of Exeter University, this 4 lane, 25m outdoor pool is heated to around 29 degrees and surrounded by a delightful grass verge…

VIEW THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

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DARTMOUTH LIDO

This is a community pool, run by a local charity. The pool measures 25 x 8.5m in size and is heated to around 28 degrees. Open from roughly May - Sept.

THEY HAVE A LOVELY WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

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KINGSTEIGNTON SWIMMING POOL

Heated 25m outdoor pool and toddlers pool. Lots of room aroud the pool for pre/post-swim relaxation and a spot of sunbathing.

VIEW THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

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MORETONHAMPSTEAD

Run by volunteers, through the summer months. Heated by air source pumps and solar energy! You’ll find it on the edge of Dartmoor.

VIEW THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

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MOUNT WISE SWIMMING POOLS

Right on the water. Salt fed 25m swimming pool. Pool is open during the summer months and isn’t heated.

VIEW THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

VIDEO FOOTAGE - CLICK HERE

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TEIGNMOUTH LIDO

A 25m heated outdoor swimming pool. Sat right on the coast, overlooking the sea.

VIEW THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

FOOTAGE - CLICK HERE

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SHOALSTONE POOL

This is a saltwater Lido, overlooking the Brixham sea front. Another lido that’s run with the help of committed volunteers. Runs from May - Sept. There isn’t an entry charge but they do ask for a voluntary entry fee.

THEIR WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

FOOTAGE - CLICK HERE

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TINSIDE LIDO

Once voted one of the top 10 lidos in Europe! Grade II listed and has a beautiful art deco design. Sat right on the waters edge…

VIEW WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

FOOTAGE - CLICK HERE

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TOPSHAM SWIMMING POOL

Heated outdoor pool. Open over the summer months and heated to ‘at least’ 28 degrees.

VIEW WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

FOOTAGE - CLICK HERE

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For a FULL LIST of the UKs lidos, click the button below :

Sea Swim Cornwall have also put together their own Top-Trumps style game, featuring a number of the UKs lidos. CLICK HERE to find out more.

Which swim events are you suitable for...in 2024?

On this blog post we’ll explore which swims and/or swimming activity you are best suited to and you’ll enjoy the most. We’ll go through all the categories of swimmer out there and tell you what’s available. Simply scroll down and find the section relevant to you.

If you’re in a swimming group or have swimming friends or are simply coming to Cornwall by yourself, you have the option of booking private swim/s. Whether it’s a one-off or you’d like to book a series of swims…or you’d like to book in a group for your own private holiday or event…get in touch. Unlike the set-date swimming holidays on the website, you have more of a say regarding times and locations if you book in as a private group.

SLOW / NEW TO SEA SWIMMING

If you’re an inexperienced sea swimmers, just starting out with sea swimming, want to improve technique, comfortable with sea swimming just a bit slower and/or prefer to take your time and do a bit of ‘sight seeing’ on your swim. We’re talking head up breaststroke, slow front crawl, slow-to-middle lane of your public swimming pool session… We have plenty for you. You can start with our sea swim-specific coaching (there are elements of front crawl swimming that are specific to sea swimming) - either a coaching session or series of coaching sessions. CLICK HERE for more info.

This year we’re running a series of short swims and coaching sessions, with sauna activity! As well as Full Moon swims (at night)…we’ll announce these dates later on. For general calendar - CLICK HERE.

We also host water safety / first aid courses. These cover rip currents, planning swims, reading the conditions, as well as first aid, basic rescue techniques and have no restrictions on entry (provided you can swim at any level). CLICK HERE for more info. As well as set-date courses, we also host private group courses.

SLOW SWIMMING HOLIDAYS - swimming holidays that cater for slower swimmers. Swims are tailored to the group and will offer a variety of different swim lengths over each swim. We’ve had swimmers attend and swim head-up breaststroke the entire time, one gentleman in 2023 suffered a stroke (before the holiday!) and could only move the left side of his body…and completed all of the swims! Swims are typically 200m-1500m depending on how far you want to swim. *We can put on additional distance at the end of a few of the swims, if any of the swimmer want to get in some distance. We never have ‘set’ swim holidays, as we choose the swims based on the conditions.

ASSISTED SWIMS - if you’d like to attempt a swim like St Michael’s Mount, you can book a private session and we’ll tow an additional rescue board with us, which acts like a taxi. You can get a tow for parts of the swim and complete the sections you fancy.

SLOW AND STEADY SWIMS - we have a series of one-off swims, designed for swimmers that aren’t the fastest or that simply prefer to take their time. CLICK HERE - for event calendar.

SLOW SWIMMING DAYS OUT - a non-event event. We specify a set area and then let you know where to meet us 2 days before the event. This is because we pick the swims based on the days conditions. This is a very informal, very social day of swimming. We take on 3-4 shorter swims of the course of 1 day. Swim distances are between 200-800m, depending on the swimmer. Very leisurely day of exploring… CLICK HERE for info.

FULL MOON SWIM – you’d be perfectly placed to attend one of our full moon swims. We have a mixed bag of swimmers on these, from head-up breaststrokers to front crawl swimmers that get excited and try and get in a 2km swim!

MEDIUM PACED SWIMMERS 

It’s really tricky conveying what we mean by medium/average pace. Often people are put off or anxious booking our ‘standard’ holidays. Our ‘slow swimming’ activity books up far better. By medium pace we’re talking holding approx. 2 ½ minutes per 100m / 20-25 minutes per km. So…you’re generally looking at the whole of the middle lane of an average public swimming session. We’re simply happy with you covering the distances, rather than too worrying about pace. With our holidays and larger events we have multiple people on water safety, so it’s easy for us to split up and manage a group of swimmers with varied speeds. We also get faster swimmers to double back – they cover a little extra distance and the group stays together.

All of the activities above (slow section) are open to medium paced swimmers. You’re also more than welcome on any one-off swims, as well as our standard swimming holidays. Swimming MOT coaching sessions may be more appropriate, although you’re welcome to book a full coaching session. CLICK HERE for info.

EVENTS – the 10K or 5K events (broken up into a series of swims over the day) are open to anyone that comfortable swimming that distance. They’re more of a challenge, than an event, avoiding mass starts and tight turns around buoys. CLICK HERE for more info.

FASTER SWIMMERS 

Standard (non-slow swimming) holidays would be ideal, along with the 5 & 10k Day events. You can also book one-off swims, for both individuals and small groups. We also book ‘special’ events, like sauna swims and full moon swims. You’re welcome to sign up to any of these. CLICK HERE for event info.

FLEXIBILITY 

We pride ourselves on our flexible approach. If there’s an idea, activity or service you’d like that we don’t currently offer, get in touch. In the past, we’ve supplied a client with a swimming itinerary (for example)…a list of swims and which conditions to swim them in. CLICK HERE for contact page.

Why Tremorvu Campsite near Helston?

This year we’ve based a holiday from Tremorvu Campsite (although there’s no requirement to stay here, if you like your creature comforts). We’ve held holidays here in the past and we’ve only ever received great feedback. Well kept, quiet, great value for money and….more importantly, it’s a short drive to everywhere (…everywhere you’d want to swim!).

As my sketch of a spider demonstrates… There are a lot of options! With the longer drives, we’d pick two swims in close proximity, to minimise driving.

5-10 minutes : 3 Different cave swims and lovely beaches/coves, like Prussia Cove.

10-15 minutes : St Michael’s Mount, Marazion, Porthleven, Perranuthnoe

15 - 20 mins : Church Cove, Poldhu Beach

20-30 mins : Carbis Bay, Porthkidney, Mousehole

30-45 mins : Kynance Cove, Coverack, the Helford / Durgan Village / Grebe Beach

We typically offer dining options in Penzance. With this holiday and it’s location, we have easily accessible additional options, like Porthleven or Praa Sands.

*at the time of writing Tremorvu didn’t quite have all of their pitches published on their website. If this is still the case email them and they’ll handle your booking.

tremorvu@hotmail.co.uk

GUIDE TO 2024

We still have a couple of events in the pipeline, so this may not be a complete list…depending on when you’re reading this. We also offer shorter notice swims (based on the tides) throughout the year and will often create small group swims around individual bookings.

MAY 25 - starting in slightly cooler water but the weather has been great in May for the last few years and these are shorter swims…so water temp isn’t a problem. This is a shorter distance ‘slow swimming day out’, multi-swim (non)-event. Number currently restricted to 24 and some head-up breaststroke is expected…encouraged even! These are leisurely swims, on a social day out. West Cornwall is our back yard and we know it better than any other area in Cornwall. Loads of opportunity for great beach swims. Previous footage - CLICK HERE. TICKETS / MORE INFO - CLICK HERE.

JUNE 8 - a little adventure in north Cornwall. The North Cornwall 5K Day. Quite simply, open to anyone that can swim….5k (not in one go)! All abilities welcome, provided you can cover the distance over 3 swims. So approx 1.7km per swim (x3). We have a delightful back-up plan in case of swell or undesirable wind. Limited number on the event, avoiding mass starts and tight turns around buoys… MORE INFO - CLICK HERE

JUNE 18-20 - a ‘slow swimming’ midweek holiday based around west Cornwall, the Lizard and Helford. As there is a huge area to choose swims from, this holiday can offer some absolute beauties! We have suggested a centrally located campsite but you can stay where you like. We have multiple members of staff on safety on these holidays, so pace and distance is very flexible. Loads of potential for a mix of beach and river swims. Previous footage - CLICK HERE. MORE INFO - CLICK HERE

JUNE 25-27 - our standard pace midweek, west Cornwall holiday. By standard pace you’d be looking at the middle lane of a public swimming session (from fastest to slowest)…provided you can cover the distance we really aren’t that bothered. This holiday offers longer distances, of around 1.5-2km per swim. We have ample team members on water safety and we can split the group, if needs be. Again, we know west Cornwall very well. Great potential for lots of beach swims. Previous footage - CLICK HERE. More info - CLICK HERE.

JUNE 29 - Our 10K Day swimming event. 4 swims, over 1 day, totalling 10km. This event will be based in the St Mawes - Roseland area. Numbers on this event are limited to 50. Although some are welcome to race the routes, it is really more of a challenge, than an event. We’ve stripped back the t-shirts and freebees normally associated with this sort of event and simply kept the price down. Great opportunity for beach and river swims. Previous footage - CLICK HERE. More info - CLICK HERE.

JULY 2-4 - slow swimming midweek holiday, based around the Penzance area. Like the other slow swim holidays, we’ll pick nice flat and safe routes over a shorter distance (250m -1km). We’ll try and keep this one centred around Penzance, if the conditions allow. Some amazing beaches in the area for fantastic swims. Previous footage - CLICK HERE. More info - CLICK HERE.

JULY 5-7 - Standard weekend swimming holiday, based in St Ives / Penzance. By standard pace you’d be looking at the middle lane of a public swimming session (from fastest to slowest)…provided you can cover the distance we really aren’t that bothered. This holiday offers longer distances, of around 1.5-2km per swim. We’ll try to include some delightful swims, in the St Ives area…as well as some around Penzance. All swims will be launching from beautiful beaches. Previous footage - CLICK HERE. More info - CLICK HERE.

JULY 12-14 - slow-to-medium pace swimming holiday, in St Austell. This is a flexible speed/distance holiday that allows the participants to explore St Austell Bay. Swimmers have to be able to cover around 500m per swim at their own pace. We’ll have multiple personnel on water safety, so we can subdivide into smaller groups. Previous footage - CLICK HERE. More info - CLICK HERE.

JULY - AUG - we have a selection of one-off swims throughout July and Aug (pace requirements included on the link)…as well as additional dates to come. CLICK HERE for calendar.

SEPT 6-8 - easily one of our most popular weekend swimming holidays. We restrict numbers (15) on this one and it’s a slightly more intimate holiday. The Lizard Peninsula has dozens of fabulous swims on offer, including both beach and river options and the water is a great temp this time of year. Previous footage - CLICK HERE. More info - CLICK HERE.

SEPT 27-29 - Our most affordable swimming holiday. Set on the weekend, in the St Mawes / Roseland area. At the end of Sept the water is nice and warm. The holiday is set in an area that offers great protection from the wind and you have dozen and dozens of river and sea swimming options. Previous footage - CLICK HERE. More info - CLICK HERE.

Slow Swimming Holiday - Case Study, 2023

2023 was the first year that we offered ‘slow swimming’ holidays and they were extremely popular. One of the holidays fully booked and had a waiting list of 18 people! So obviously, we’ve added lots of additional ‘slow swimming’ activities to our annual calendar.

In this blog post we’ll take a look at two of these hol’s and talk you through all the details. I thought this would be particularly relevant and of interest to anyone that’s never been on a swimming holiday, worries about their pace in regards to group swimming and anyone that simply wants more info. We’ll look at distances, locations, access, staffing, pace…

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HOLIDAY 1 : a midweek ‘slow swimming’ holiday, based in west Cornwall, June 13-15. Price £129. Group size was 24, with 3 on water safety (43 seasons of beach lifeguarding/water safety experience between us)…as the forecast was perfect. If it had been slightly more challenging, we would have had 4 on water safety. We’d suggested staying at Tremorvu Campsite but obviously you could have stayed wherever you like.

Swim 1 - Perranuthnoe. Tues, at 3.45pm. Not that well known by tourists but a beautiful beach, with a stunning beach side cafe. After parking, the group strolled up the coastal path on a 500m walk and then down the track to a very quiet, secluded beach. With 3 members of staff on water safety the group soon split up with around 8 people doing a supervised shorter route (approx 400-500m), a number of these swimmers did head-up breaststroke. The other group went on to complete around 1.7km. Both groups swam around a great circular cave route, the ‘distance’ group then went on to navigate some very interesting channels, cut into some flat rock.

Swim 2 - Porthcurno. Weds, at 9.45am. Straight walk from the car park and down the beach, around 400m. On this swim we had a better idea of the group and offered 2 options. Around 10 of the swimmers chose the shorter route out to the Minack Theatre, for a ‘seaside’ view and back to the beach (approx 400m). The second group headed over to Logan Rock and back, around 1.8km, although a few turned back early (approx 1.4km). This for many, was followed by the ‘essentials’…coffee and cake at the cafe, some had lunch.

Swim 3 - Nanjizal. Weds, around 3.30pm. This swim is an absolute beauty that we rarely offer, as the conditions have to be perfect. It’s a straight forward coastal path and a good 20-25 minute walk to the beach, from the car. Here, we swam through ‘Zawn Pyg’ or the ‘Song of the Sea’ cave. Absolutely stunning, world class swim. The route through the cave is around 400-500m. Some of the swimmers enjoyed it so much that they did it twice. A number of the group also swam across the bay…so totalled around 1.3km.

Dinner - we had a delightful and social group dinner at 45 Queen St on the Weds evening.

Swim 4 - 3 Bears Caves Swim. Thurs, 10am. Access to this swim is a little trickier. A 400m walk down a fairly steep coastal path and then a careful bum shuffle down some rocks at the bottom, which all the group comfortably managed. We then had a great swim into 3 caves. All of the group completed the swim at their own pace, around 800m. Some then added some distance, with a swim across the beach - total 1.4km.

Swim 5 - Porthleven. Thurs, at around 2.30pm. A few of the group opted out, as they were tired but came down and did some sun bathing on the quay. Some also jumped off the harbour wall! A leisurely swim out from the harbour, around the reef and back in, on a slack tide. Very easy access along the quay/road. Swim distance approx 1-1.4km. A few waited until the water safety team were back and swam a much shorter route in the harbour.

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TOTALS - walking of around 9km and swimming of around 3km-7.5km depending on which route you opted for. Some swam head-up breaststroke, some front crawl and some completed a mixture of the two. One swimmer also opted out of 2 swims…so swam around 1.5-2km.

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HOLIDAY 2 - St Mawes / Roseland Peninsula weekend ‘slow-to-medium pace’ swimming holiday. Sept 29 - Oct 1. Price £119 (only 4 swims on this weekend, standard is 5). Group size - 15. 3 on water safety (approx 43 seasons of beach lifeguarding/water safety experience between us). Over the weekend we had sun, a little wind and overcast conditions. We’d suggested staying at Treloan Campsite but participants were free to make their own arrangements.

Swim 1 - St Just-in-Roseland tidal pool / harbour. This is a stunning swim, that requires the right sized tide. We picked one of the biggest tides of the year and put on a swim, that included part of the sunset. 200m walk to the entry point. Swim length was 400 - 1.5km depending on the swim. A few head-up breaststrokers turned back early, with a member of the team.

Swim 2 - St Anthony’s Lighthouse. This required some work on our part, as the forecast changed. We spoke to the group and they were all happy to walk approx 3km to a breathtaking beach, around the corner from St Anthony’s Lighthouse. There we swam approx 1-1.5km up the Percuil River. A few swimmers swam and chatted their way around 400m of the route. Again, we split the water safety team and covered all of the swimmers.

Swim 3 - Porthcurnick. We stopped at the Hidden Hut at Porthcurnick for lunch. A great spot for refreshments. The wind had picked up (as predicted) and made the second swim slightly challenging. After careful planning we all walked over to Portscatho and used the headland for shelter. Whilst it was nice and sheltered in the bay, it got slightly rougher towards the point, which some swimmers quite enjoyed. Half the group stayed in the bay and some swam out to the point. Most of the swimmers climbed onto the swimming pontoon and jumped/dived off. Swim distance 400m - 1km. 500m worth of walking.

Swim 4 - St Mawes Beach. A straight forward swim up the Percuil River, from the beach in St Mawes. After a 200m walk from the car park, you pop down the stairs and you’re on the beach. We swam up the river. Some of the group opted for a 500m swim, while others pushed on and covered around 1.5km. We all ended up in Da Bara Cafe straight after!

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TOTALS - around 8km of walking, with 1.9km - 6km of swimming activity. Some swam head-up breaststroke and chatted (a lot!), some front crawl and some completed a mixture of the two.

St Mawes Swimming

2023 was a very popular year for Sea Swim Cornwall…so popular in fact, that by July we decided at the last minute to put on an additional swimming holiday in Sept. As we hadn’t done a lot of swimming in the St Mawes / Roseland area…this was the obvious choice.

St Mawes is an ideal location for swimming holidays, as you have multiple sheltered rivers to choose from, as well as coastline facing in every direction. As well as the wind and conditions, the tide also dictates where you might swim…meaning every swimming holiday is different.

This is St Just-in-Roseland and the tidal pool. Great way to start a holiday!

Annual Lizard Peninsula Swimming Holiday

One of our highlights every year is the Lizard Peninsula swimming holiday. We always hold it on the first weekend of September. The water is still warm and the crowds have thinned out. We’ve held this holiday for the last four years and each one has been absolutely stunning!

This year we really had to work. We had a southwest swell that rules out the west coast and easterly winds…so our experience really came into play, during the planning for this trip. Despite challenging conditions, we put on 5 delightful swims, in flat and enjoyable conditions.

Swim 1 - Kennack Sands following a route north, along the coastline, using the cliffs for shelter. Clear water, plenty of marine life and a great swim to start everyone off.

Swim 2 - Coverack, another nice and sheltered swim. We swam up and checked out the harbour before again, swimming north and keeping out of the wind. From there we took advantage of the location and popped into Roskilly’s. Epic pizza and ice cream…

Swim 3 - Durgan on the Helford river. Stunning morning swim, in pan flat conditions. Swimming from Durgan over to Trebah, then back across to Durgan to Grebe Beach. Beautiful scenery and weather. From there we visited the very unique and beautiful Potager Gardens for lunch.

Swim 4 - Parbean Beach. Takes some effort to get to but we had a very nice swim towards the mouth of the estuary / end of the headland and back. A new route for us.

Swim 5 - Church Cove / Gunwalloe. A proper sea swim…as we had snuck in a few river routes. Great morning for it and as it was swim 5, we picked a route that allowed a half way exit.

Safe to say that everyone had a fantastic weekend, including the staff! Bring on 2024.

OUR BIGGEST HURDLE

We attract swimmers from far and wide. We’ve had clients from Scotland (taking advantage of Cornwall Airport, Newquay), Manchester, swimmers from Holland, a lady from south Australia…all over the place. As well as accommodating people from various areas of the country and the world, we also accommodate swimmers of varying abilities, experience and speeds. This is also where one of our major hurdles lies.

On a fairly frequent basis we receive emails and phone calls from clients that have booked and are looking to book, regarding the anxiety they are experiencing over swimming in the sea and their suitability to the activity they have booked. This year we have introduced a ‘slow swimming’ holiday and it’s booked up 2-3 times faster than our standard holidays…and I’ll be shocked if half the people that attend the ‘slow swimming’ holiday aren’t perfectly suited to the ‘standard’ version of our swimming holidays.

So…firstly, we’re not really concerned about the pace that people swim. What we are interested in is whether or not you can swim the distances set out in the holiday/event description. What we’ll also point out is that there is no requirement to complete all of the swims over the course of the holiday/event day. Provided you let us know prior to swim starting, there’s obviously no problem with you sitting a swim out. What we’re are also happy to do is put on a shorter distance swim immediately after the scheduled swim finishes. We adopt a very flexible approach.

Secondly, we base all of our swims on the days conditions. So we never approach a swim day (unless it’s a one-off private booking), with a set swim location or series of swim locations. That way, you swim in the safest conditions possible…for both your own safety and enjoyment and there’s no pressure on us to hold a swim in questionable conditions!

Third and final point, as I’ve already mentioned, we approach all of our activities in a flexible manner. If for example, we had a couple of slower swimmers in the group, we simply split up our water safety team and one of the team would hang back.

If you have any questions regarding swim holidays or swimming events feel free to get in touch.

Swimming Holiday Costs

Here at Sea Swim Cornwall we do our very best to offer great value for money and make swimming holidays accessible for all. When we first started we took a long hard look at the industry and it was very clear that the majority of swimming holiday out there were unaffordable for a lot of people…or it might be something you’d do once or twice in a lifetime. We decided that we wanted to change that.

We started by offering 3 day (2 1/2 day really) swimming holidays (5 epic swims). Part of the reason for this was that most people would only have to take 1, possibly two days off work to attend a great long-weekend. With a shorter trip, you also don’t have to pay a great deal for accommodation and/or meals out. We offer private one-off bookings, so if anyone did want a few more swims, they can simply get in touch and book either side of the holiday. You may also want to take in some additional activities, so could easily take a week off and do both.

This year we’ve actually put our prices down! During 2022 we tinkered with our usual formula and offered a larger group swimming holiday. It sold out in record time and was our most affordable and popular holiday to date. Whilst we had more people in the water, the ratio of water safety members to swimmers was better than our traditional style holiday and it gave us more flexibility when it came to the group spreading out…it was a very easy decision when it came to rolling out more of these holidays.

Most of the following budgets are based on an individual booking. If you come down as a pair (with a fellow swimmer), you obviously share accommodation expenses etc and benefit from lower accommodation, driving…expenses.

BUDGET HOLIDAY :

Swimming holiday (mid-week option) - £129

Fuel (mid-range, mid-sized car, approx 400 round trip) £70

Additional driving/parking in Cornwall - £50

Camping (2 nights). £15-30

Lunch out - £20

Total : approx £300 / £270 per person if you shared a car and tent

MID-RANGE BUDGET :

Swimming holiday - £139 to £188 (depending on the holiday)

Fuel (mid-range, mid-sized car, approx 400 round trip) £70

Additional driving/parking in Cornwall - £50

B & B (3 nights) - £300-400 (could book with a friend & share cost)

Lunch and 1 dinner out - £50

Total : approx £670 or around £500 per person sharing with a friend

HIGHER-RANGE BUDGET :

Swimming holiday - £188-£239 (depending on which holiday)

Fuel (mid-range, mid-sized car, approx 400 round trip) £70

Additional driving/parking in Cornwall - £50

B & B / Hotel (3 nights) £650 / 2 Nights £450

Lunch & dinner out £70

Total : approx £1,000 for 3 nights or £800 for 2 nights.

TO CHECK OUT OUR 2023 HOLIDAYS - CLICK HERE. We also take private group bookings and offer 1-day events.

Safer Swimming Guide - Porthcurno

I can’t believe that we’ve written dozens of safe(r) swimming guides over the last couple of years but never written one featuring Porthcurno Beach.

Well here it is. A guide to safer swimming at Porthcurno. There are also a couple of suggested swim routes, over to Logan Rock and around the corner to the Minack Theatre (for a very unique perspective).

Porthcurno to Minack and back - approx 500-600m

Porthcurno to Logan Rock and back - approx 2-2.5km…if you swim Porthcurno to Logan Rock on a fairly large spring tide, at low tide you could walk large parts of it. So if you weren’t up to a 2.5km swim to could do a swim-walk-swim. Just watch out for the nudists!

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SWIMMING AT PORTHCURNO :

PREVIOUS PORTHCURNO SWIMS :

OUR BEST VALUE SWIM HOLIDAY TO DATE

We're running two of our standard (world class!), self-drive swimming holidays in West Cornwall. We're suggesting that you stay at the Lizard View Campsite, just outside of Helston. The campsite is situated in the quiet, rural countryside, with distant views of Poldhu Beach and the Lizard. We picked this campsite after a number of site visits, for it's stunning location, value for money and it's perfect position. In terms of driving time you're:

15-20 mins away from Falmouth - and swims like Swanpool, Gyllyngvase Beach, Maenporth...

15-20 mins away from the Helford - and a number of glorious swimming options 

15-20 mins away from north/central Lizard Peninsula - and world class swims like Kynance Cove, Church Cove, Cadgwith, Polurrian...

15 mins to the south coast of West Cornwall - epic swims like Prussia Cove, Porthleven, 3 Bears Caves...

20 mins to St Michael's Mount and Penzance

15-20 mins to Hayle and St Ives - swims like Carbis Bay, St Ives 'Island', swims to Porthminster... 

* We typically pick an area where we can offer 2 swims and reduce driving time. The first swim of the day is generally timed to avoid traffic and allows us to park up for the day and not have to worry about the potential issue of parking. We'll then choose a great local option for lunch.

For us, this is the perfect location to base a swimming holiday. For 2023 we're offering recession busting deals! There is no requirement to book at the campsite and you can make alternative arrangements but this is where we'll typically meet pre/post-swim and it offers a really friendly, social element to the holiday. 

We’re offering 2 dates, a weekend and midweek option. The weekend date (June 16-18 2023) is priced at £188 (with a reduced entry price for members) or £125 for our midweek dates (June 13-15 2023).

To book the Lizard View Campsite simply call them direct and make your booking. A 10x10m pitch is £20 per night and will comfortably fit a large tent and up to 4 people. Call Simon on 07572306708. Book a pitch and then book onto our holiday.

This was by far our most popular swimming holiday in 2022, having sold out 8 months before the holiday date and also notching up a decent waiting list.

New Event / Weekend / Holiday / Epic series of swims...

Here at Sea Swim Cornwall we love a tweak! Each year we’ll offer one holiday that’s a little bit different from our standard format holidays. Mainly just to see if it works, has a good up-take, see if we’ve previously ‘missed a trick’… and also so our clients have a variety of options. This year we used a campsite in the Lizard as a base. Somewhere for everyone to stay, in a central location, that offered good value for money and has a bar! Get the social side of things working…as it had slacked off somewhat (Covid!). We upped the participant numbers and actually reduced the price for this holiday and we’ve never sold a holiday faster!

Now, we’ve looked around for a similar ‘base’ campsite in the Penzance area and found a great site. Very affordable (£5 per adult, per night at the time of writing), flat ground, right in the middle of west Cornwall…5 minute drive to places like St Ives, Hayle, Penzance, Marazion… We were originally looking to promote this holiday for 2023 but we liked the campsite and set up so much we’re going to run it this year - Sept 9-11, 2022. We’re putting on 5 swims : 1 x swim Friday evening, 2 x swims on Saturday, 2 x swims on Sunday. You can book as many or as few swims as you’d like. £30 per swim (members receive a discounted entry). If this holiday proves popular we’ll add additional swims. You don’t have to stay at the campsite, locals don’t have to camp at all…

You initially book a date and time slot. A few days prior to the swim we’ll look at a reliable, short range forecast and pick the swim that best suits the days conditions - both for your enjoyment and safety. You could also book the entire week and contact us about booking some private swims, swim coaching etc prior to the weekend.

For more info and booking click the button below :

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Swimming Holiday Case Study

The following is a sequence of swims that we put on during a holiday back in 2017. It was one of those holidays where absolutely everything went perfectly (not that it doesn’t normally you understand!). The weather was perfect, there was no wind or swell - which meant that we could pick any swims we wanted.

It was a returning group and a private group booking, so everyone knew each other and we knew everyone. So there was lots of…(I hate this word but I’ll use it in this instance)…banter. The sun also shone all weekend. This obviously doesn’t happen on every holiday but even if it does rain it only ever tends to be for half the trip! A couple of unexpected things also took place - the first being an Opera singer warming up at the Minnack Theatre and her song blew across the water in the breeze for the whole swim, the second being an army of BBC trucks at Porthcurno early morning filming Poldark. We just missed the cast and crew…but it was a point of excitement…

Great holiday and if you watch the video you can view the swims that the group took on.

Plan your own salt water wild swimming trip

Unless you know the areas you’re swimming very well we’d always recommend a local guide…I appreciate that we are a local guide and it’s obviously in our interest but…it should always be safety first. If you get together as a group, the water safety can be very affordable and it’s always good to have someone with you that knows the local area and is familiar with the conditions.

Generally and if you’re swimming in areas without swell, the shallower the better. Again, without swell it’s generally better to swim on neap tides and on an incoming tide. Ideally on a slack tide (ie. 20 minutes either side of high/low tide. That’s because there is less water movement around these times…but be careful you don’t stay in too long after high, as the water will then start to flow out quite quickly.

WHERE TO START : ideally you’d choose two areas. Both facing opposite directions. That way, if there’s a strong onshore wind and chop on one coast, you can move across to the other. We often base ourselves in Penzance and the Lizard Peninsula for that exact reason. In an ideal world you’d have a light off-shore breeze.
If you’re planning a series of swims your best bet is to find a central parking location and park up early. You could then potentially walk or cycle to multiple swim locations.

THE SWIMS : try and pick swims with multiple exit points. Have a plan B. If there is water movement and you can’t get in you’ll already have an exit point. This will potentially avoid panic, which typically leads to silly decisions…

HELP : inform the RNLI/coastguard/local lifeguards of your plans. Give details regarding timings, swim locations and numbers. Also, look up local businesses. If you’re quite remote and don’t have phone r3ception, they might. Taking a mobile, VHF radio or rescue beacon is always a good idea.

VISIBILTY : just the usual. Take a bright swimming cap, tow float etc.

ADDITIONAL SAFETY : do a head count in and out. You could also take emergency contact info and med records for everyone.

RESCUE EQUIPMENT : something like a SUP could be ideal. It’s not specifically designed for rescues but can cover distances quicker than swimming and can be used for buoyancy, should anyone get in any trouble. Visibly they’re also far easier to find in the sea. The group could take it in turns and an inflatable SUP are quit3 easy to transport.

Swimming at Charlestown, St Austell.

Walking down to Charlestown Harbour is like walking into a film set…possibly because it is used as a film set! The site has been used on the BBCs recent adaptation of Poldark and Doctor Who, as well as Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland….and a number of other titles.

Charlestown is a UNESCO world heritage site and it’s a little like stepping back in time when you access certain areas of the harbour and won Tripadvisor’s ‘Travelers’ Choice Award’ for 2021.

For swimming Charlestown is ideal. It’s not great on a moderate to strong easterly wind…but we don’t get that many days (particularly in the summer) where the wind blows in that direction. Europe is also in the way for big swells to roll on in.

In terms of swims - you can swim from Charlestown to Carlyon Bay and back, swim Charlestown to Porthpeanand back or opt for a shorter swimming route from Charlestown to Duporth and back. Alternatively, you could swim one way and walk back across the coastal path.

Charlestown has quite a few spaces in local car parks, as well as lots of on-street parking. The local town has all of the facilities that you’d need for a swim or day out.

Swims are best accessed from the beaches either side of the harbour. The harbour is quiet in terms of traffic but you still get the odd boat travelling in or out… Take care.

Swimming Charlestown to Porthpean (& back) - approx 2.5-3km

Swimming Charlestown to Carlyon Bay (& back) - approx 2km

Swimming Charlestown to Duporth Beach (& back) - approx 1-1.5km

Swimming at Porthpean Beach, St Austell

We carry out a lot of our swimming activity in west Cornwall, mainly as we’re based in the local area. Cornwall as a whole has some stunning swims throughout the entire county.

Personally I’m not a massive fan of the town but St Austell in particular has a number of outstanding swimming options. The highlight of these options (for me) being the Charlestown and Porthpean area.

Porthpean - is a quiet beach, a mile or two along the coast from Charlestown Harbour. You can find a small car park just up the road from the beach (PL26 6AX). It’s then a 2 minute walk down to the beach. We’ll include a video/photos rather than a description. The water quality and clarity is always great. You’d want to avoid the entire area on an moderate to strong easterly wind.

Charlestown - always a real treat. Ample car park space and a fair bit of on-street parking. I always pop into Short and Strong for a coffee whilst in the area…there are lots of other options. The harbour itself is stunning and has featured in a number of films, including Alice in Wonderland. As well as Dr Who and the BBCs most recent adaptation of Poldark.

SWIMS : great swim from Porthpean to Charlestown and back. Best attempted on an incoming tide, near to high. Approx distance 2-3km. There’s also a very active, very social group of local swimmers.

Other routes might include a longer swim from Porthpean to Carlyon Bay.

Swimming Church Cove, the Lizard

We’ve wanted to cover this swim for some time. Church Cove is absolutely stunning. From the walk down, to the thatched roof cottages on the walk down, the tiny harbour, the swim itself… We finally had the perfect conditions and tide to offer this swim…although best not to do it on a low tide, like we did. Was slightly trickier to get out of the water than I would have liked. You might want to try this one a couple of hours after low tide. It’s also very remote, so definitely don’t try it by yourself and take the usual precautions.

Best on a westerly wind. SW light to medium strength winds will also work.

Amazing swim. You can swim right up to the Lizard Lifeboat Station. The water was crystal clear, with seaweed in patches, as well as stretches of white sand. On a higher tide there would be a couple of arches and caves to swim through. Stunning swim. Well worth the effort.

*For the more adventurous swimmers or swim-runner you could swim from Church Cove to Cadgwith (or the other way around) and run back to the car.

That’s it from us. We’ll let the video do the rest of the talking. Church Cove, the lizard Peninsula :

Review of 2021

2021 above all was very…interesting. Planning was very tricky due to Covid and us basically predicting the restrictions that might be in place. The weather and wind forecasts were all over the place, with a lot of the short term forecasts being far less accurate than usual. We had to cancel our first swim ever on the beach, just before we were going to set off…as the forecast and actual conditions were wholly inaccurate. The wind strength was really strong for long parts of the summer. The water temperature was also really cool until at least the start of June. Cornwall was incredibly busy all year, so we had to factor in parking with a lot of our activity.

That being said…what a great summer of swimming it was!

We appeared in the national press 3 times over the course of the year! The Times, Financial Times and Guardian.

We started the season with quite a few swims around Mousehole Island and a few shorter routes. Mainly for safety reasons, as if you started to get cold you’d have less distance to negotiate on your way in. We have a large list of shorter swims and some stunning swims with really interesting features, so we still offered some beautiful swims. We also offered water safety / rip current awareness courses (for the first time) in the early part of the season, so swimmers could swim safely through the summer. Along with some 30 minute coaching sessions and a coaching programme we ran at the Jubilee Pool.

We ran a number of swimming holidays through the summer. We saw lots of new faces, as well as lots of returning ones. A number of these holidays were private holidays for returning groups. By the end of the summer we also got back to what we do best - a nice social trip, with pubs and cafes featuring…as well as world class swimming of course!

2021 saw us offer a new type of holiday. We held a trip in the middle of the Lizard Peninsula, with people staying in a central campsite. This made for a far more social experience and has proved to be incredibly popular.

NEW SWIMS : We’re always on the look out for new swims. I find it incredible that we still find them 4 years of swimming holiday. This year saw us swim out of Polurrian Cove on a couple of occasions. A stunning, quiet beach, just around the corner from the more popular Poldhu Cove. As well as swimming a route up towards Mullion, we also completed a more challenging 2km route from Polurrian to Poldhu.

The Sea swim Cornwall team completed a glorious swim from Porthleven to Rinsey - a quite spectacular route of around 3 miles. READ ABOUT IT HERE.

We offered a few swims at Kynance Cove this summer and accidentally (always the best way) found a secret new cave, only accessible on a certain tide. We’ll look to offer this swim next summer…occasionally.

Church Cove, on the east side of the Lizard (there are 2!), has been on our hit list for some time. This year gave us the perfect opportunity to finally offer up this swim and it did not disappoint. Words don’t do it justice. You’d be better off clicking on the link above.

A longer swim we’ve considered for some time finally got some attention. Lamorna to Mousehole. Around 4km of what we thought would be rugid, DEEP swimming but it was surprising safer than we imagined. In the right conditions, getting out is fairly straight forward, once you’re round the point at Lamorna. There is also a coastal path you can scramble up to, if needs be. Whilst it is deep in parts, there are also fairly shallow sections the whole way along. Swimming into Mousehole, from the less popular side was also a real pleasure. It’s a swim we’ll more than likely look to offer next year.

Porthchapel - hidden around the corner from Porthcurno was a real treat. There is a little scramble / climb down the rocks onto the beach…but nothing too taxing. It’s a beautiful beach and swim. It’s also a new and different option to swim to from Porthcurno.

The north side of the west of Cornwall is an area we’ve spent some time exploring. Whilst we’re happy with heading to St Ives when a strong southerly wind blows in, it’s nice to have lots of options. We’ve found a few additional swims, although some are a little tricky to get to. We’ll save these for smaller groups and on-off swims.

Praa Sands also hosted a number of swims. Whilst I’ve visited Praa Sands a number of times, I"‘ve never really rated it as a beach. This summer however, changed that. Really enjoyed spending time here. There are a number of very cool cave swims off both ends of the beach and options to swim around to Keneggy and Prussia Cove.

Poldhu Cove better known for it’s surfing has provided us with a few very nice swims this summer. There’s an awesome little channel that you can swim through on the point and you also have the option of swimming around to Church Cove and exploring a few caves.

All-in-all fantastic summer of swimming. We’ve actually learnt a little more about reading the conditions, found some new swims and tweaked a couple of our holidays for 2022.

2022 holiday dates and events are either out or being announced shortly. Holidays requiring just a £50 fee to reserve your spot at this stage. Memebership for regular local swims are also currently available for 2022. You’ll find out about events and holidays first, be offered last minute reduced entry for any spots still available on holidays, as well as receive discounted entry for weekend swims and events. CLICK HERE for more info. Membership just £20.

Porthleven to Rinsey

This is a swim we’ve been talking about for some time. Swimming out of Porthleven Harbour is always great (stick to flat conditions and away from the main, central channel whilst in the harbour). It can be a little tricky to plan as you need nice flat conditions and either a light N or NE wind. Today was the day however!

Swimming out of Porthleven Harbour is always spectacular. Once you swim around the corner you’re greeted by an underground forest of seaweed and boulders. As you pass the first corner you can follow the spectacular cliffs and rock formations for a good mile and a half. You get to see a few beautiful, remote, sandy beaches, as well as lots of cave formations (including Nichols Cove) . You then head straight towards Trewavas Mine, perched right on the edge of the cliff. As stunning as the mines are they’re also slightly soul destroying. They’re far enough away that every time you ‘sight’ them they look exactly the same distance away…which makes you feel like you’re getting nowhere for quite a while!

Once you pass the mines you’ll shimmy around the headland, complete a short stretch before you shimmy around the last point and you’re then on the home straight. I love swimming the Rinsey stretch. We were greeted by a shoal of thousands of Sand Eel, as well as the odd larger fish. At this stage boulders rise and fall as you swim over them, you swim over large patches of white sand and eventually end up at the beautiful Rinsey Cove.

We also had the bright idea of running the coastal path back. Having done very little training all year - what could go wrong!? It is an absolutely stunning route across the side of the cliffs/hills and absolutely brutal to run (unfit anyway!). Up and down STEEP hills for 4 miles.

Epic swim. Best to do in a group or with water safety cover. BE CAREFUL. Probably best to start just before high tide and do your research and planning.

Choose your swimming holiday / activity

We have a range of swims, events and activities, for a range of abilities. This blog post will hopefully help you to decide which option best suits you. I’ll break your options down into what you might swim regularly in terms of distances and speed and your experience level and look at what might be suitable. We’ll start at 1 (which would be a complete beginner) up to 5 (more advanced swimmers).

1.BEGINNER / NOVICE

Just started swimming, possibly don’t swim front crawl or lacking confidence, definitely in need of some coaching…

LOOK AT : 1-2-1 coaching or small group coaching (with some friends), we also run beach safety courses/rip current awareness…

2. SLOW SWIMMING / SHORTER DISTANCES

Maybe looking to swim further and improve technique. May also want to look at small scale swimming events or take on longer swims safely…

LOOK AT : 1-2-1 coaching or small group coaching (with some friends) & we also run beach safety courses/rip current awareness. Take a look at our Swimfari Events - a non-competitive day of swimming, with multiple swims, based on the days conditions. Ideal as a social day out, to gain experience and fitness and ultimately have a laugh.

Another option might be an assisted swim. We tow a SUP around a longer swim with us. This gives the swimmer the option to take regular breaks or catch a lift around sections of the swim. This option open up a whole new world of swimming options that weren’t possible ordinarily.

You may also consider a ‘wild’ swimming holiday. Chat to a member of staff before booking.

3. SLOW SWIMMING / LONGER DISTANCES

LOOK AT : 1-2-1 coaching or small group coaching (with some friends) & we also run beach safety courses/rip current awareness. Take a look at our Swimfari Events - a non-competitive day of swimming, with multiple swims, based on the days conditions. Ideal as a social day out, to gain experience and fitness and ultimately have a laugh.

People often get a little intimidated by swimming holidays. All of our swims are based on the conditions and the average pace of swimmer is generally around 2-2.30 mins per 100m over a distance swim (approx 20-25 mins per km). We obviously have slower and faster swimmers…but we either split the water safety/group up or swim as a group and the faster swimmers double back regularly.

We offer our unique ‘10k Day’ events, taking in 3-4 swims over the course of the day, that total….10km! We’ve stopped this type of event for 2020 (Covid fitness issues) but it will come back. The Swimfari Event follows the same format but with shorter distances.

We also have short-notice / weekend swims or privately book a swim.

4. PUBLIC SESSION MIDDLE LANE SWIMMERS (APPROX)…

You may still look at coaching or water safety courses.

You’ll definitely need to look at Swimming Holidays, all of our events, as well as our one-off swims and private bookings. As well as set-date swimming holidays we also take private group booking swimming holidays (tailoring the holiday to the group), generally starting with as few as 4 people in the group.

5. MIDDLE - FAST LANE PUBLIC SESSION SWIMMER

You’ll definitely need to look at Swimming Holidays, all of our events, as well as our one-off swims and private bookings. As well as set-date swimming holidays we also take private group booking swimming holidays (tailoring the holiday to the group), generally starting with as few as 4 people in the group.

We also cover longer distance swim (up to 10km) private bookings. Either individuals or we’ll take small groups (provided they stay as a group through the swim)….as well as body surfing tuition.