The Wild Swim Blog

Photo by Jo Clement It was one of those perfect winter days, a cold crisp morning where the car windscreen was covered in a blanket of white ice and the sun was just starting to rise up into the blue skies.  We had all our swim kit precisely packed into our bags along with bottles of hot chocolate and our lunch, not an inch of room spare in the full filled backpacks.   Off we trundled through the narrow back lanes of Cornwall's countryside towards one of our favourite tidal pools.  Low tide was at 11am and it was about...

One of my most memorable swims ever was when I got the opportunity for a sunrise swim out to London Bridge Arch in Devon.   The impressive limestone arch pokes out of the coast just around the corner from Torquay harbour.   I found the easiest entry point was at Peaked Tor Cove from which, at close to high tide, meant an approximately 600-800m swim around to the Arch. When to get in the Water for a Sunrise Swim Depending on the distance, when jumping in for a sunrise swim I will normally try and hit the water just before Civil...

  In December 2019; in a world that was a very different place than it is today, I decided to enter an Ironman competition as my first foray into the world of long distance triathlons. A couple of years prior to this I got into Triathlons and along with this my fire for swimming at speed versus just for experiencing the outdoors was reignited.  This brought a much needed structure to my life and the enjoyable sensation of progress. Digging into the world of data that is now available to us through smart watches is one of my favourite past...

The SNUG BUD® is a wearable body warmer with a hand-warming sleeve and is every cold-water swimmer's dream!  We love wrapping our towel or base layers around it whilst in swimming and then whipping it on after a swim to help our core warm up gradually.  Here we catch up with Joni Botha, one of the Founders and Director of SNUG BUD® to find out a little bit about his story including the idea behind the SNUG BUD® and his open water swimming journey. Where did you learn to swim? Mid-winter, Plumstead, Cape Town. I was one of four kids, our Dad was lost at sea when...

  As the sun rises later and sets earlier, you may find it hard to fit your wild swims into the hours of daylight.  Swimming at night, under the moon and stars is an exhilarating experience.  However as with open water swimming during the day, swimming at night comes with risks.  Below find Jay's top five tips for wild swimming in the hours of darkness.  Never Swim in the Open Water Alone.  Especially at Night. Even though swimming in the daytime alone is never recommended, when swimming at night it's even more crucial to go with a swim buddy.  Bribe...