Plan your 2025

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I’m going to write a quick piece on planning your 2025 activities with Sea Swim Cornwall for 2025…this will also include your options, what we offer and may give you the odd idea for a private booking or day out.

FLEXIBILITY : if we don’t offer what you’re after…ask! We offer private bookings (one-off swims, multi-swims, events…). If it’s not in the calendar simply give us a ring and we’ll see if we can make it happen. Private one-off swims are pretty much the same price as group swims…depending on the location.

SPEED / ABILITY : we’re as inclusive as we possibly can be. Again, private bookings are an option. We run distance events and one-off swims that are an option for quicker swimmers. We also offer ‘slow swimming’ activities for the slower, head-up breaststroke, like-to-look-around style swimmer… Private individual and group swims are an option.

ONE-OFF SWIMS : we publish these well in advance on the website and also offer shorter notice swims on social media (and the website). They’re shorter notice as they’re planned around the short range forecast.

DAYS OUT : we fairly regularly offer multi-swim days out in various areas. These are great for exploring, having a social and longer journeys…as you’re travelling over for a number of swims, not just one. This format is also great for swimmers that cover less distance, as you swim more than once and can explore an entire area.

EVENTS : We offer various events that avoid long distances in one go and rather break the distance up into a series of swims. These include our 5 and 10K Day events. We refer to these as ‘challenges’ rather than races, as we avoid mass starts, tight turns around buoys… and simply let people cover the distance in a calm and relaxed manner.

HOLIDAYS : We offer 4 types of swimming holiday. The first simply being a privately booked holiday. We then offer :

The ‘slow, short & social’ swimming holiday - a holiday designed to take in multiple swims or short distance (50-400m). This is designed specifically for people that are less in it for the distance and more in it for scenery, pleasure, the social element, the general fun of it all… As this holiday cover shorter distance, this is our best value holiday.

The ‘Slow Swimming’ holiday. These holidays offer around 400-1500m per swim. They’re designed for serious sea swimmers that happen to swim at a slow and steady pace, all the way through to head-up breaststrokers that don’t mind covering some distance. With all of our holidays, we have multiple members on the water safety team, so are quite happy to split the group up if required and swim around in smaller sub-groups.

The ‘standard’ swimming holiday. People often get put off by this group and opt for the ‘slow swimming’ holiday. This is by absolutely no means an elite level swimming holiday. The average pace of the swimmers is around 2.30 mins per 100m, over a couple of kms. Again, we also offer flexibility in distances swum per swimmer and if anyone is really fast, we simply get them to double back and re-join the group.

LOCAL MEMBERSHIP : if you’re planning more than one swim with us, it’s well worth looking at the local membership. You get onto the members Whatsapp group and as well as the odd exclusive merch offer, you’ll receive around 1/3 off one-off swims, discounted entry on holiday and any other offers we publish through the group. Membership for 2025 is just £12.50!

COACHING : we offer sea swimming specific coaching session. They typically consist of a 10-20 minute chat at the start to figure out exactly what you’d like out of the session and how we approach the session itself. You’ll then be in the water for around 10-25 minutes. You’ll receive feedback and generally go away with some homework. Coaching comes as a one-off session or set series of sessions. Click here for more info. *If you’re thinking about some one-off swims or events, this is also a great opportunity to get some feedback on your suitability.

Full Moon Swim in the Lizard

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2023 saw us take on a new swim. A night time, full moon swim. We picked Trevassack Lake, as it has high walls for shelter, great facilities and uninterrupted views of the moon and stars.

We offered 2 groups, at 6.30 and 7.30pm. The 6.30pm group had far more ambient light and witnessed the moon rising over the far cliffs and into the night sky. The later group experienced ‘proper’ dark and the moon and stars high in the sky.

The forecast was quite harsh, with 35kmph winds, with the odd wind gust. We picked the lake as it offers great protection from the wind and it delivered. We made slight adjustments to our original plan and used the west side of the lake and cliffs as protection from the wind. The swimmers experienced little to no chop at all. The water was also 15.5 degrees. It was warmer in the water than out!

Both groups then popped over to the onsite cafe and had a hot vegetable stew and hot drink (the water safety team opted for the hot chocolate!).

We had great feedback from the groups and will look to create a bigger and better event for next year.

*What the video doesn’t show is how stunning the moon looked. Rising on the east side (to the left).

Slow Swimming Holiday - Case Study, 2023

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2023 was the first year that we offered ‘slow swimming’ holidays and they were extremely popular. One of the holidays fully booked and had a waiting list of 18 people! So obviously, we’ve added lots of additional ‘slow swimming’ activities to our annual calendar.

In this blog post we’ll take a look at two of these hol’s and talk you through all the details. I thought this would be particularly relevant and of interest to anyone that’s never been on a swimming holiday, worries about their pace in regards to group swimming and anyone that simply wants more info. We’ll look at distances, locations, access, staffing, pace…

HOLIDAY 1 : a midweek ‘slow swimming’ holiday, based in west Cornwall, June 13-15. Price £129. Group size was 24, with 3 on water safety (43 seasons of beach lifeguarding/water safety experience between us)…as the forecast was perfect. If it had been slightly more challenging, we would have had 4 on water safety. We’d suggested staying at Tremorvu Campsite but obviously you could have stayed wherever you like.

Swim 1 - Perranuthnoe. Tues, at 3.45pm. Not that well known by tourists but a beautiful beach, with a stunning beach side cafe. After parking, the group strolled up the coastal path on a 500m walk and then down the track to a very quiet, secluded beach. With 3 members of staff on water safety the group soon split up with around 8 people doing a supervised shorter route (approx 400-500m), a number of these swimmers did head-up breaststroke. The other group went on to complete around 1.7km. Both groups swam around a great circular cave route, the ‘distance’ group then went on to navigate some very interesting channels, cut into some flat rock.

Swim 2 - Porthcurno. Weds, at 9.45am. Straight walk from the car park and down the beach, around 400m. On this swim we had a better idea of the group and offered 2 options. Around 10 of the swimmers chose the shorter route out to the Minack Theatre, for a ‘seaside’ view and back to the beach (approx 400m). The second group headed over to Logan Rock and back, around 1.8km, although a few turned back early (approx 1.4km). This for many, was followed by the ‘essentials’…coffee and cake at the cafe, some had lunch.

Swim 3 - Nanjizal. Weds, around 3.30pm. This swim is an absolute beauty that we rarely offer, as the conditions have to be perfect. It’s a straight forward coastal path and a good 20-25 minute walk to the beach, from the car. Here, we swam through ‘Zawn Pyg’ or the ‘Song of the Sea’ cave. Absolutely stunning, world class swim. The route through the cave is around 400-500m. Some of the swimmers enjoyed it so much that they did it twice. A number of the group also swam across the bay…so totalled around 1.3km.

Dinner - we had a delightful and social group dinner at 45 Queen St on the Weds evening.

Swim 4 - 3 Bears Caves Swim. Thurs, 10am. Access to this swim is a little trickier. A 400m walk down a fairly steep coastal path and then a careful bum shuffle down some rocks at the bottom, which all the group comfortably managed. We then had a great swim into 3 caves. All of the group completed the swim at their own pace, around 800m. Some then added some distance, with a swim across the beach - total 1.4km.

Swim 5 - Porthleven. Thurs, at around 2.30pm. A few of the group opted out, as they were tired but came down and did some sun bathing on the quay. Some also jumped off the harbour wall! A leisurely swim out from the harbour, around the reef and back in, on a slack tide. Very easy access along the quay/road. Swim distance approx 1-1.4km. A few waited until the water safety team were back and swam a much shorter route in the harbour.

TOTALS - walking of around 9km and swimming of around 3km-7.5km depending on which route you opted for. Some swam head-up breaststroke, some front crawl and some completed a mixture of the two. One swimmer also opted out of 2 swims…so swam around 1.5-2km.

HOLIDAY 2 - St Mawes / Roseland Peninsula weekend ‘slow-to-medium pace’ swimming holiday. Sept 29 - Oct 1. Price £119 (only 4 swims on this weekend, standard is 5). Group size - 15. 3 on water safety (approx 43 seasons of beach lifeguarding/water safety experience between us). Over the weekend we had sun, a little wind and overcast conditions. We’d suggested staying at Treloan Campsite but participants were free to make their own arrangements.

Swim 1 - St Just-in-Roseland tidal pool / harbour. This is a stunning swim, that requires the right sized tide. We picked one of the biggest tides of the year and put on a swim, that included part of the sunset. 200m walk to the entry point. Swim length was 400 - 1.5km depending on the swim. A few head-up breaststrokers turned back early, with a member of the team.

Swim 2 - St Anthony’s Lighthouse. This required some work on our part, as the forecast changed. We spoke to the group and they were all happy to walk approx 3km to a breathtaking beach, around the corner from St Anthony’s Lighthouse. There we swam approx 1-1.5km up the Percuil River. A few swimmers swam and chatted their way around 400m of the route. Again, we split the water safety team and covered all of the swimmers.

Swim 3 - Porthcurnick. We stopped at the Hidden Hut at Porthcurnick for lunch. A great spot for refreshments. The wind had picked up (as predicted) and made the second swim slightly challenging. After careful planning we all walked over to Portscatho and used the headland for shelter. Whilst it was nice and sheltered in the bay, it got slightly rougher towards the point, which some swimmers quite enjoyed. Half the group stayed in the bay and some swam out to the point. Most of the swimmers climbed onto the swimming pontoon and jumped/dived off. Swim distance 400m - 1km. 500m worth of walking.

Swim 4 - St Mawes Beach. A straight forward swim up the Percuil River, from the beach in St Mawes. After a 200m walk from the car park, you pop down the stairs and you’re on the beach. We swam up the river. Some of the group opted for a 500m swim, while others pushed on and covered around 1.5km. We all ended up in Da Bara Cafe straight after!

TOTALS - around 8km of walking, with 1.9km - 6km of swimming activity. Some swam head-up breaststroke and chatted (a lot!), some front crawl and some completed a mixture of the two.