Wild swimming in the UK

Now that rivers and lakes are getting cleaner and clearer, more people in the UK have been bitten by the wild swimming-bug – and not only during the summer.

Picture a winter vacation in Buckinghamshire, UK, and imagine you’re taking a morning walk near the quiet Black Park Lake. When you exhale, tiny clouds form in the freezing air. You start craving a steaming mug of hot chocolate, to be enjoyed later in front of the fireplace at an inn. Suddenly you see splashing in the almost-frozen lake. Wow, you think. People are actually swimming, in the dead of winter!

You have to wonder why, and at the same time ask yourself whether you would have the nerve or ability to do that, and whether it would give you a huge buzz, considering other people are crazy enough to do it. ‘You better believe it’ is the answer to that question, according to the people who have been bitten by the wild-swimming bug. Their numbers are growing, and the participants range from young to old. Year-round, open-water swimming in the UK is very popular these days.

Emma J. Hardy of the London Swimming Club (LSC) has a more nuanced take on the subject. “It’s true that the number of open-water swimmers in the UK has exploded over the past few years,” she says, “but I think that the enthusiasm is lasting, and not just some hype that will fade again. Actually, it’s not a new phenomenon. Swimming in the ocean and in lidos, man-made outdoor swimming pools or ponds, has always been an important part of British life.