Our most memorable wild swimming spots

Ashness, Cumbria by Caroline Howarth

What makes Ashness a particularly special spot is that you are looking up at Catbells, often said to be the prettiest of all the Lake District fells, and also swimming down the lake to Portinscale (where our B&B/holiday home is) and the majestic Skiddaw range in the background. Dramatic fells surround you, with the changing weather catching different parts of the mountain tops, craggy slopes and islands. Each swim can feel completely different. Sometimes rough and excitingly wild, sometimes blissfully calm and comforting. Sometimes the waters, mountains and sky can look a little grey and uninviting, but once we get in and acclimatise, we see that in fact they are silver, not grey, and the mountain scenery has a dramatic presence over the lake. One of our friends, Maria Burton, is a fabulous local artist and she has asked me to take her swimming there, as water and the lake scenes inspire her painting. 

One of my most recent swims is one of the most incredible experiences of my life: swimming under the Northern Lights. My husband, Clive, captured some stunning shots. It was a very still and relatively warm night: the lake was like a millpond, with the Northern lights reflected in the waters, and the jetty almost posing for effect. Swimming in the semi-dark night, looking up at the pinks, greens and yellows of the aurora, being careful not to make too many ripples was simply unforgettable. While there are many beautiful spots to swim in the Lake District, some of my memorable swims have been here. 

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Skrinkle Haven, Wales by Patsy Seddon

I first went to Shrinkle Haven about five years ago. It’s a long walk down from a cliff face from the Pembrokeshire National Park walk from Manobier beach to Tenby. There’s a sign to it from the coast road, but I’ve not used that route and always come down off the path. It’s completely secluded, a small natural beach with nobody around and an incredibly peaceful feel to it. For years, it was inaccessible (or perhaps inadvisable!) thanks to a Royal Artillery Firing Range nearby, but they’ve stopped operations in the area now.

There are a lot of steps down and it’s quite a climb back up at the end of the day. You also need to time your visit for low tide to make the most of the beach itself. When it’s right out, you can walk to/from Church Doors beach next door, around the headland. The approach and timing seem to put a lot of people off and you can often have the whole thing to yourself, with the cliffs towering up either side of you and making you feel like you’re on your own little island.

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Carne beach, Cornwall by Jill Jobson

I first came across Carne Beach when I moved to the Roseland Peninsula over 30 years ago. Carne and Pendower meet up as the tide lowers and there is almost a mile of beach. It’s very shallow, even at low tide, which makes it warm and more importantly, safe for swimming. The first time we walked down my youngest (then aged six) shouted “this is the best day of my life”. We spent the whole day digging and swimming. There was only an ice cream van back then, but things are more sophisticated now, with @thethirsteaco selling upmarket ice creams and delicious snacks and coffee! When our youngest was still at home we would go down after school, light a barbecue and go for a swim, by the time we came out, the food was cooked. Most recently, we paddled along the water’s edge and looked for shells and pieces of seaglass.

The approach is down lanes from Veryan village. There are National Trust car parks at Carne and Pendower and there is some free parking on the road near the Pendower end. Dogs are allowed in winter and on leads in summer. The beach looks incredible at any tide and is a draw for walkers on the Cornish Coast Path. You can also walk to Porthcurnick and get a takeaway lunch from the famous Hidden Hut. I recommend it to tall our guests, many of whom swim there before breakfast, while some just go down with their books and spend a day reading. Any time spent on Carne, in any way, makes you feel fantastic. It is a rush of fresh air, the sound of the waves is exhilarating, and you can always forget any worries you may have whilst there.

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Currie Sands, Islay by Christopher Wilson-Elmes, Copywriter, Sawday’s

My wife’s family have been going to Islay every year since she was two years old, and the tradition has grown into a multi-generational expedition to the ‘Isle of Whisky’. You’d have thought they’d know every crag and corner of the place by now, but only a few years ago we all discovered Currie Sands together thanks to a chat with a local shopkeeper. The beach is just north of Portnahaven and, if you’re coming from the town, it’s a left down a narrow, single-track road (not much of a distinction on Islay, admittedly).

There’s no signage, for either the road or the beach, so once you reach a white farmhouse you simply stop on a large square of grass. There’s still no sign of the beach from here but nip through the gate and walk across the field and suddenly it appears, a tiny cove cut into the surrounding rock. It’s a sheltered spot, which is handy on the island, with a deep shelf that gives it quite dramatic waves on occasion. Swimming is a matter of throwing yourself in and seeing how long you can stand the cold, but the water is crisp and clear, and you come out shining from the inside.

River Dart, Devon by Isobel Higley, Digital Coordinator, Sawday’s

My partner was working in the Dartington area, and I went to visit him. It was an amazing sunny day, and he took me to this hidden swimming spot on the river Dart. You walk down a beautiful countryside lane through the Dartington Estate, where there are cattle fields and old trees – everything you imagine when you think of rural Devon. There are multiple access points, some where you can jump off rocks into the river. Of course, he chose one of those, and I was too scared to join him in jumping off the rocks, but I did crawl into the river and we both swam upstream.

It looked like a wide opening to a calm river, with ducks paddling around and trees that dapple the light. Other parts are totally covered in trees and feel like a magical cove, but I like the sunshine. Last time we went all the ducks came to say hello. It was really cute. We also took a picnic down to the riverside and found a grassy bank to eat bagels, but I was greedy and didn’t share my bagel with the ducks.

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