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.

Beach Rater - Praa Sands

Another beach in our guide that doesn’t look that enticing. However, a lower rating is based on the fact that the beach regularly gets surf and doesn’t always suit safe/enjoyable swimming. In the right conditions there are a number of glorious swims available, including quite an exciting cave swim and swims featuring rock features.

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.

Wild Swimming Days Out

We’re running a number of ‘Wild Swimming Days Out’ in 2023 and annually. These are swimming days that are designed for all-comers. We have swimmers that turn up and do head up breaststroke, all the way through to swimmers that’ll cover 3-4km. The day is designed to take in 3-4 swims, with minimal travel between swims. Our West Cornwall day out in 2023 saw us park up and manage 4 swims without moving vehicles. We typically set a rough area and then get in touch 2-3 days before the event, once we’ve seen an accurate forecast and announce the exact swim locations. This ensures that you swim in flat and enjoyable conditions.

Our west Cornwall Wild Swimming Days Out saw us swim from 2 secluded beaches to the west of Perranuthnoe, one beach swim from Perranuthnoe and another glorious swim towards Cuddon Point.

Penzance holiday activities guide

Now offering midweek swimming holidays, to run alongside our weekend and private booking activities, we thought it’d be a great idea to include a Penzance activities guide. An idea of additional activities you could undertake whilst visiting. OBVIOUSLY it’ll be difficult to compete against the swims we’ll offer but we’ll direct you to some providers that can compliment the swims.

Your first port of call might be to check out Kayak’s local area guide, particularly for accommodation - CLICK HERE.

You also want to check out some of the following :

1. Western Discovery - walking holidays

2. Ocean High beach hire/activities provider, Marazion

3. Ocean Sports Centre, Carbis Bay. Activities and hire centre

4. Kernow Coasteering

5. Electric bike hire - Ride On / Beryl Bikes

6. Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens

7. Sauna on the sea front

8. Local art galleries

9. Surf school Praa Sands / Surf school Sennen

10. Visit St Michael’s Mount

11. PASTIES!

12. Minack Theatre

13. Polgoon Vineyard and vineyard tours

14. Morrab Gardens

15. Good food and entertainment

16. Great food in town

17. Newlyn Filmhouse

18. Mousehole Harbour

Sea Swim Cornwall in 2022

NEW : we’re still unsure about events for 2022. With the constant threat of new variants and possible future lockdowns we’re going to leave it til a little later… The likelihood being we’ll put on one event. What we are doing is the following : we’re running summer long events, starting in April and running through til Oct/early Nov. We’re running handicapped events, that give time advantages based on your gender and age. This format allows you to swim a particular route at a time of your choosing, either by yourself or as a small group. It allows most entrants a good chance of posting a competitive time, regardless of your age or gender. There will be an overall winner at the end of the summer that will win a cash prize. So far, we have Carbis Bay as a confirmed route and we’ll add an additional route at a later date. MORE INFO CLICK HERE.

SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE : We’ll be offering a monthly subscription (4 weeks at a time), on tried and tested routes in the west of Cornwall. Typically on a Saturday morning but the odd swim may take place on a Friday evening or Sunday morning (if we’re not available on the Saturday). Provided we have good numbers we’ll also contact local businesses near the swim route and arrange some coffee and cake deals post-swim. FOR MORE INFO.

SSC MEMBERSHIP : CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS. So....this year we've made a few changes to our annual membership. We'll simply list the perks below. 

1. First option on all of our short-notice or planned weekend/midweek swims

2. Minimum of 10% off our short-notice swims - typically 25%

3. First option on events and 10% off

4. Occasional exclusive discounts on merchandise

5. First discounted option on any swimming holiday places that aren't booked up

6. We'll also invite you to bring a friend (at same reduced rate) on some swims

7. Discounted coaching sessions

8. *If we work on a collaboration with another partner we may not be able to offer discounts on these events ie. working with a pool provider

9. Generally - you'll be the first to hear about swims, events and holidays and have a head start on booking these, at a discounted rate.

SWIMMING HOLIDAYS : We simply require a £50 reservation fee for any of our holidays. We’re offering them the whole way through the summer. We try and make these holidays as inclusive as possible. If unsure of your suitability simply call us. As well as offering the same winning long weekend formula we’ve also added a wild swimming holiday / vineyard tour and a Lizard Peninsula camping trip. Some of these holidays are almost fully booked, others have good availability (generally down to when we published the holidays info & booking). Holidays generally cost anywhere from £160-250 for the weekend (Fri-Sun).

COACHING & WATER SAFETY COURSES : We’ll continue to offer the same high standard of coaching and water safety awareness courses through 2022. You can either book a voucher or book a slot. We typically start in April and finish early Nov.

Swimming in the Praa Sands area

This is a really easy area to ‘sell’ but we do recommend swimming around the Praa Sands area with some caution. If it’s pan-flat conditions and the wind is light the area offers some stunning swims. The reason we’ve mentioned being cautious is simply because of the remote location of the swims. Swimming around some of these headlands offer very limited opportunities to passers-by to spot you, should you have any issues.

With either of the following swims - always swim in a pair or group…or even better, take someone along on water safety / get a guide. Both swims can easily be extended in length and offer a stunning swim, that’s a little off the beaten track.

Praa Sands does regularly get swell. However, in the peak of summer…when we’re (potentially!) surrounded by high pressures the swell often subsides and we get nice flat, calm conditions.

Here are 2 guides to a couple of swims in the Praa Sands area.

Safe Swimming Guide - Lamorna Cove

This beach can get swell and chop from any southerly wind. Again, be wary of swimming here once the tide has turned and is going out, particularly with big Spring tides.

Swimming in Penzance

Tom lives on the outskirts of Penzance, so knows the area really well….and what an area! In terms of swims you’re spoilt for choice. In the immediate area you have Penzance sea front which is best at high tide, the Battery Rocks being a particularly popular area. Along the same stretch you have the famous Jubilee Lido and Penzance harbour - which offers great sheltered conditions at high tide.

The highlights of the Penzance area are St Michael’s Mount (you need to swim this in the right conditions), Mousehole Harbour and Island, there are some wonderful cave swims on the outer Penzance area (but the area is my favourite and I’m not telling!). A little further out you have Porthcurno, Penberth Cove, Lamorna Cove….all stunning.

The issue with Penzance, much like St Ives is the fact that pretty much all face south. If you have chop and wind coming in from the south you’ll struggle for a local swim. You do have St Ives just up the road though, that is north facing.

Image from www.saltwaterimages.com

Sea Swim Cornwall - Safe Swimming Guide. Rinsey Cove

One of our favourites. A little remote but that isn’t a bad thing. If you’re unsteady on your feet probably best to avoid this one. Avoid the point in the direction of Praa Sands, particularly on an outgoing tide. You can get a .5-1 knot current running along there.

Beach Rater - Marazion Beach

We’ve completed a Safe swimming Guide for Marazion. I thought it might be nice to add a beach rater to the area. So here it is :

• Despite the high rating I rarely visit this beach. Possibly a little too busy for my taste. If you’d like a safe, beautiful beach, with plenty to do (a family day out)…then this is for you!

Beach Rater - Mousehole Harbour

You can either park on the near side of the harbour and pop onto the sand, or either drive through (or around the back) of the village and park and visit the far side of the harbour. The wind direction may influence which part of the harbour you visit. One of my favourites, with the kids.

Another for the Bucket List

This is definitely one for the bucket list. Bear in mind you have to swim it in the right conditions…and being an island it doesn’t always happen that frequently…as you’ll get a bit of chop regardless of which way the wind is blowing. That said, you don’t have to swim around the island. You can always take the sensible option and use the island to shield you, whilst swimming up the side and back. A great plan B!

Anyway…St Michael’s Mount. Apparently the most popular destination for people to get engaged.

Image courtesy of www.saltwaterimages.co.uk

A private group that swam out to the Mount from Long Rock, in June.

A private swimming holiday group from July 2018

Our safe open water swimming guide for St Michael’s Mount.

Gin Bar

A very cool Gin bar in Penzance at the minute. That cool in fact, that I can't find any trace of it online. You find the Sea Swim Cornwall logo on the map and you'll find the bar.