Inspiration

Five to dive – some of our favourite wild swimming spots

Sawday's Expert

5 min read

Whether or not you’ve been swept up in the tide of the wild swimming craze, there’s something irresistible about having a pool on your doorstep. As soon as you arrive, the debate begins. Who will go in? When? How loud will they scream when they do? Here, to make it as easy as possible for you to take plunge, are a few places where the water is comfortingly close to a warm, dry blanket and a rewarding hot drink.

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Wild swimming

The Net Store

Striding into a sea loch off the north coast of Scotland is what you might call the extreme end of wild swimming. This is either one for the summer months, when the heat of the air makes the temperature of the water almost refreshing, or for staging your own loony dook, the traditional New Year’s Eve dip. Either way, you’ll have the fabulously chic interior of The Net Store to enjoy as you wait for the feeling to return to your extremities.

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Treveddoe Farmhouse

After breakfast around the big kitchen table, take a stroll across the fields to where the river Bedalder forms a pretty pool. Rivers are often colder than the sea, so be ready with your highest-pitched yelp as you slide in. If you’re wise, you’ll have heated the hot tub before you walked down, so you can all dash back up and enjoy the contrast before retiring to the lounge and sinking into the sofas around the wood burner.

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Ty Coch

No need to wait for Hollywood stardom or befriending an oligarch to have your own private beach, just head down to Gwynedd and check in at Ty Coch. It sleeps 14, so you can take enough people for big beach games and bbqs on the wide sweep of sand, with the kids and dogs paddling as the smoke curls up into the sky. Back up at the beautiful house, there’s stone seating round the firepit, a fairy-lit terrace and space for everyone to spread out and relax.

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Lakes Boathouse

Being a genuine converted boathouse, this place throws a sideways look at anywhere that makes you walk down to the water. You can pretty much fall out of the front door and into the lake, and there’s a private jetty where you can camp out with a bottle of something and a couple of towels, stretching out on the warm wooden boards and diving in when you need to cool off.

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Bowcombe Boathouse

Deep in the craggy reaches of the Kingsbridge Ria, this little place sits full of antique treasures, like a pirate’s hideout concealed among the trees on the shoreline. You can sit on the balcony and watch the water, dip your toes in at the edge or take a bracing warming swim. If that doesn’t satisfy your taste for aquatic adventure, borrow the kayak and paddle a mile or so round the corner to lunch in Kingsbridge.

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Christopher Wilson-Elmes

Sawday's Expert

Chris is our in-house copywriter, with a flair for turning rough notes and travel tales into enticing articles. Raised in a tiny Wiltshire village, he was desperate to travel and has backpacked all over the world. Closer to home, he finds himself happiest in the most remote and rural places he can find, preferably with a host of animals to speak to, some waves to be smashed about in and the promise of a good pint somewhere in his future.

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