The Perfect Swim - St Michael's Mount

In theory Sept/October is the perfect month to swim in Cornwall. The water is still warm and the crowds have dispersed (a little). The Cornish locals love this time of year. The only issue of course, being the weather! This time of year has the potential to be outstanding but all it takes is a storm or two to roll in and it’s all over.

I had a standard email from a lady wanting to swim around St Michael’s Mount in Oct this year (2021). Forecast looked very good for the Thursday, so I booked it in.

Turning up was a treat. Car park quite empty, which had not happened all summer. The wins was light northerly and the sun was shining. In the water was around 16.5 degrees.

This turned out to be one of the best swims around the Mount we’ve done. The water was crystal clear and glassy. You could see underwater without changing the angle of your head. The water is rarely so still and clear that you can look forward and see rocks and seaweed almost seamlessly merging into the over-water landscape.

The lady swimming told me at the end that it was “the most beautiful swim I’ve ever done”…I wasn’t in the least bit surprised.

Top 10 West Cornwall Swims

We’ve pretty much swum every inch of the west Cornwall coast. Here are our top 10 swims-ish. It’s really hard!

10. Prussia Cove - it’s not just the swimming but the whole experience. Beautiful, fairly quiet cove. Magical walk down. You can swim around to Keneggy or go west and back round to the start. Typically fairly clear water, always a bit chillier than other local areas though!

9. Swimming out through Porthleven Harbour (we definitely wouldn’t recommend this without an experienced guide!) and swimming SE along the beach. This is a hard one to beat in the right conditions. It’s difficult not to be impressed with some a stunning harbour.

www.saltwaterimages.co.uk

8. Carbis Bay to Porthkidney and back. Crystal clear water and a white sand beach. Definitely worth doing at high tide.

7. Lamorna Cove. Can be a bit hit and miss. If storms and rough seas bring in seaweed it often gets stuck there for months. You get this beach right however, it’s like being in the tropics. Clear water, white sand, an abundance of fish…

6. Mousehole and St Clement’s Isle. Mousehole is one of my favourite places in the world. Stunning village and harbour. St Clement’s Isle offers a 1-1.5km swim (depending on how straight you swim!). Give the island a wide birth ensuring you don’t get too close to the seals.

Mousehole Harbour

5. Rinsey to Praa Sands and back. Loads of see on the way. A few caves and rock features to explore en route too. At the time of writing there isn’t much sand on Rinsey beach so might be difficult to get into the water.

4. Zennor. Again, this one is about the whole experience. Stunning village, followed by a stunning coastal walk. You have to scramble down the side of the valley to het to the beach…something that older, or less mobile readers may struggle with. For me though, it’s well worth the effort. Secluded bay, clear waters….don’t swim alone though and ensure someone knows where you are.

3. St Michael’s Mount. I think I’ve marked the Mount down, simply because I’ve taken so many groups around it. I don’t think I need to write much about the Mount.

2. Kynance Cove & swimming around Asparagus Island. Breath-taking swim. Incredible rock features, both on top and underneath the water. The walk down to the beach is worth a visit alone. Best swimming at low tide and get there early. It gets very busy in the summer months.

1. Porthcurno. World Class swimming here. Plan your swim for mid-low tide or on a small neap tide. It’s great at high tide but it just gets a bit deeper, a bit darker, the golden sands get lost a little under a high tide. You can swim over to Logan Rock or head west and take in the Minack Theatre.

*To help plan your swims in Cornwall we’ve created a Cornish swimming map book - where you can record, plan and get suggestions for your swimming trip or check out our Cornish Swim Trumps card game. CLICK HERE

Assisted swims in Cornwall

During the summer we often took out 2 rescue boards per paddler (water safety member), so we attached one board to the other using a leash. This was a Covid measure….so that if someone had stitch, cramp, had some sort of issue they could clamber onto the extra board without having to come into close contact with any of the rescue crew. This was a very good system (not that anyone actually needed it) and it also got Tom and Jo thinking.

We’ve had lots of enquiries, had a few nervous swimmers….there are lots of swimmers out there that want to complete various A to B swims but are nervous about the conditions and distance. So they miss out. We’d like to be as inclusive as possible but we’re also realistic - and have to be from a safety point of view.

So as of the 2021 season we’re offering a new service. We’ll offer people the opportunity to complete various swims that may not generally be open to them….because of their fitness, confidence, a disability….whatever the reason.

We’ll take swimmers on 1-2-1 swims around places like St Michael’s Mount and Kynance Cove using 2 rescue boards - which will be attached. The swimmer can pick-and-choose the sections of the swim that they complete and then hop onto the rescue board and get a tow around other sections…and a well deserved rest. This will ultimately allow the swimmer the experience of completing some world class, bucket-list worthy swims, without necessarily completing the entire distance. Opening up a whole new list of swims for lots of individuals.

If you are interested in this service simply contact us next summer and we’ll give you the full rundown.

Swimming St Michael's Mount

We’ve officially lost count of the number of swimmers that we’ve taken around St Michael’s Mount. We’ve swum people to the harbour wall (away from the harbour mouth), we’ve swum them around the Mount, we’ve swum around the Mount as part of a 10k swim, we’ve swum around the Mount and back, we’ve done it at high tide, mid-tide and low tide, big groups, small groups, individuals…. We’ve even recently done it at night! NEXT YEAR we’ll offer assisted swims around the Mount for people unsure whether they’d make the distance. We’ll simply tow you part of the way, on your own rescue board and you can then choose when to jump off and swim sections of this amazing swim.

One thing that never changes is the stunning view. We think the best view available is from the rear East side. It takes in the castle and beautiful sub-tropical gardens.

Despite being a 3km swim, where you’ll be out of site whilst you’re swimming around the back, this is a fairly safe swim (in the correct conditions). It’s never particularly deep, if it isn’t too choppy it’s possible to exit the water at certain points. What we would say is - swim with a friend, take a mobile in a tow float (TAKE A TOW FLOAT), watch out for boats, inform someone of your swim and when you should be back, check the conditions and if you’re unsure don’t swim.

Swimming around the Mount isn’t always possible. There are often small boats ferrying people to the island. Avoid this boat lane.

WHEN TO SWIM IT

You can swim the Mount at any stage of tide. At low tide it’s tricky to exit/enter the water at the east side of the island, as seaweed prevents you from seeing the bottom. It is however, a shorter swim (being low tide), so you can swim the island anti-clockwise then turn back on yourself and finish where you started…the beach.

Mid-tide…from around 3.5m of tidal height entry and exit of the swim is fairly straight forward. Easiest to get out on the causeway. A mid-tide swim is around 2-2.5km in length. Best to swim clockwise around, as you’ll have no issues exiting the water at the beach.

High tide offers around 2.7-3km of swimming. You never really have anything to worry about in terms of currents but I would avoid swimming around on a large Spring tide.

WIND STRENGTH / DIRECTION

The longest swimming stretch around the island is on the west side of the island, running along the harbour wall. This should be one of your main considerations. When looking at the wind direction.

A light northerly is one of the best options as the wind hits the water where you’ll be setting off and doesn’t have a chance to create chop. Be aware though that you will have to swim against the wind on your way in.

In contrast, a strong southerly is the worst wind direct as the wind has hundreds of miles to influence the water and build up lots of choppy conditions. That chop will then hit the land and bounce back…creating carnage!

Generally, you want light wind under 20kmph, with little chance of increasing whilst your swimming.

BOAT TRAFFIC

There are regular small ‘ferries’ to the harbour so you need to be careful if you’re crossing the harbour mouth or their regular route. I’d advise that you where a tow float. The midday sun often makes it quite difficult for the drivers to see swimmers.

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.