Rather than producing individual blog posts, I thought I’d include all of the beaches under the one article.
Whilst I have your attention…other than Carbis Bay, all of the beaches in St Ives are difficult to access. There’s limited parking in summer and (more recently) winter months. The best option is generally getting to St Ives early morning or parking up at Carbis and walking in or getting the train from either St Erth Station or Carbis Bay.
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.
We attract swimmers from far and wide. We’ve had clients from Scotland (taking advantage of Cornwall Airport, Newquay), Manchester, swimmers from Holland, a lady from south Australia…all over the place. As well as accommodating people from various areas of the country and the world, we also accommodate swimmers of varying abilities, experience and speeds. This is also where one of our major hurdles lies.
On a fairly frequent basis we receive emails and phone calls from clients that have booked and are looking to book, regarding the anxiety they are experiencing over swimming in the sea and their suitability to the activity they have booked. This year we have introduced a ‘slow swimming’ holiday and it’s booked up 2-3 times faster than our standard holidays…and I’ll be shocked if half the people that attend the ‘slow swimming’ holiday aren’t perfectly suited to the ‘standard’ version of our swimming holidays.
So…firstly, we’re not really concerned about the pace that people swim. What we are interested in is whether or not you can swim the distances set out in the holiday/event description. What we’ll also point out is that there is no requirement to complete all of the swims over the course of the holiday/event day. Provided you let us know prior to swim starting, there’s obviously no problem with you sitting a swim out. What we’re are also happy to do is put on a shorter distance swim immediately after the scheduled swim finishes. We adopt a very flexible approach.
Secondly, we base all of our swims on the days conditions. So we never approach a swim day (unless it’s a one-off private booking), with a set swim location or series of swim locations. That way, you swim in the safest conditions possible…for both your own safety and enjoyment and there’s no pressure on us to hold a swim in questionable conditions!
Third and final point, as I’ve already mentioned, we approach all of our activities in a flexible manner. If for example, we had a couple of slower swimmers in the group, we simply split up our water safety team and one of the team would hang back.
If you have any questions regarding swim holidays or swimming events feel free to get in touch.
Here at Sea Swim Cornwall we do our very best to offer great value for money and make swimming holidays accessible for all. When we first started we took a long hard look at the industry and it was very clear that the majority of swimming holiday out there were unaffordable for a lot of people…or it might be something you’d do once or twice in a lifetime. We decided that we wanted to change that.
We started by offering 3 day (2 1/2 day really) swimming holidays (5 epic swims). Part of the reason for this was that most people would only have to take 1, possibly two days off work to attend a great long-weekend. With a shorter trip, you also don’t have to pay a great deal for accommodation and/or meals out. We offer private one-off bookings, so if anyone did want a few more swims, they can simply get in touch and book either side of the holiday. You may also want to take in some additional activities, so could easily take a week off and do both.
This year we’ve actually put our prices down! During 2022 we tinkered with our usual formula and offered a larger group swimming holiday. It sold out in record time and was our most affordable and popular holiday to date. Whilst we had more people in the water, the ratio of water safety members to swimmers was better than our traditional style holiday and it gave us more flexibility when it came to the group spreading out…it was a very easy decision when it came to rolling out more of these holidays.
Most of the following budgets are based on an individual booking. If you come down as a pair (with a fellow swimmer), you obviously share accommodation expenses etc and benefit from lower accommodation, driving…expenses.
BUDGET HOLIDAY :
Swimming holiday (mid-week option) - £129
Fuel (mid-range, mid-sized car, approx 400 round trip) £70
Additional driving/parking in Cornwall - £50
Camping (2 nights). £15-30
Lunch out - £20
Total : approx £300 / £270 per person if you shared a car and tent
MID-RANGE BUDGET :
Swimming holiday - £139 to £188 (depending on the holiday)
Fuel (mid-range, mid-sized car, approx 400 round trip) £70
Additional driving/parking in Cornwall - £50
B & B (3 nights) - £300-400 (could book with a friend & share cost)
Lunch and 1 dinner out - £50
Total : approx £670 or around £500 per person sharing with a friend
HIGHER-RANGE BUDGET :
Swimming holiday - £188-£239 (depending on which holiday)
Fuel (mid-range, mid-sized car, approx 400 round trip) £70
Additional driving/parking in Cornwall - £50
B & B / Hotel (3 nights) £650 / 2 Nights £450
Lunch & dinner out £70
Total : approx £1,000 for 3 nights or £800 for 2 nights.
TO CHECK OUT OUR 2023 HOLIDAYS - CLICK HERE. We also take private group bookings and offer 1-day events.
We have a range of swims, events and activities, for a range of abilities. This blog post will hopefully help you to decide which option best suits you. I’ll break your options down into what you might swim regularly in terms of distances and speed and your experience level and look at what might be suitable. We’ll start at 1 (which would be a complete beginner) up to 5 (more advanced swimmers).
1.BEGINNER / NOVICE
Just started swimming, possibly don’t swim front crawl or lacking confidence, definitely in need of some coaching…
LOOK AT : 1-2-1 coaching or small group coaching (with some friends), we also run beach you could also safety courses/rip current awareness…
You could also look at our ‘Slow, Short and Social’ swimming holiday option. Short, supervised ‘plods’ in stunning locations…
2. SLOW SWIMMING / SHORTER DISTANCES
Maybe looking to swim further and improve technique. May also want to look at small scale swimming events or take on longer swims safely…
LOOK AT : 1-2-1 coaching or small group coaching (with some friends) & we also run beach safety courses/rip current awareness. Take a look at our Swimfari Events - a non-competitive day of swimming, with multiple swims, based on the days conditions. Ideal as a social day out, to gain experience and fitness and ultimately have a laugh.
Another option might be an assisted swim. We tow a SUP around a longer swim with us. This gives the swimmer the option to take regular breaks or catch a lift around sections of the swim. This option open up a whole new world of swimming options that weren’t possible ordinarily.
You may also consider a ‘Slow swimming holidays’. Chat to a member of staff before booking.
Or again, look at our ‘Slow, Short and Social’ swimming holiday option. Multiple short, supervised ‘plods’ in stunning locations…
3. SLOW SWIMMING / LONGER DISTANCES
LOOK AT : 1-2-1 coaching or small group coaching (with some friends) & we also run beach safety courses/rip current awareness. Take a look at our Swimfari Events - a non-competitive day of swimming, with multiple swims, based on the days conditions. Ideal as a social day out, to gain experience and fitness and ultimately have a laugh.
People often get a little intimidated by swimming holidays. All of our swims are based on the conditions and the average pace of swimmer is generally around 2-2.30 mins per 100m over a distance swim (approx 20-25 mins per km). We obviously have slower and faster swimmers…but we either split the water safety/group up or swim as a group and the faster swimmers double back regularly.
We offer our unique ‘10k Day’ events, taking in 3-4 swims over the course of the day, that total….10km! We’ve stopped this type of event for 2020 (Covid fitness issues) but it will come back. The Swimfari Event follows the same format but with shorter distances.
We also have short-notice / weekend swims or privately book a swim.
4. PUBLIC SESSION MIDDLE LANE SWIMMERS (APPROX)…
You may still look at coaching or water safety courses.
You’ll definitely need to look at Swimming Holidays, all of our events, as well as our one-off swims and private bookings. As well as set-date swimming holidays we also take private group booking swimming holidays (tailoring the holiday to the group), generally starting with as few as 4 people in the group.
5. MIDDLE - FAST LANE PUBLIC SESSION SWIMMER
You’ll definitely need to look at Swimming Holidays, all of our events, as well as our one-off swims and private bookings. As well as set-date swimming holidays we also take private group booking swimming holidays (tailoring the holiday to the group), generally starting with as few as 4 people in the group.
We also cover longer distance swim (up to 10km) private bookings. Either individuals or we’ll take small groups (provided they stay as a group through the swim)….as well as body surfing tuition.
Last week we hosted Will Hide (a travel journalist), who then wrote a piece for the Financial Times…featuring Sea Swim Cornwall. On his stay we took in a delightful swim at Penberth Cove, followed by swims at Cadgwith Cove (and the Devil’s Frying Pan), Coverack and Mousehole Harbour. Great few days and article.
You get that horrible strong wind blowing in from the north - where do you swim in Cornwall? Here are some of our suggestions….
Salt Water Images .co. uk
Provided the wind isn’t too strong - St Michael’s Mount isn’t too bad. The wind doesn’t have a large fetch to whip up chop, so it remains fairly calm. You have a tail wind on the way out, protection from the island and then you obviously have a head wind on the way back. Swim anti-clockwise as you’ll have a tail wind for the longest stretch and watch out for the ferry on the way back in!
If you’re on the north coast and the tides are right…head for the Gannel. Do your research though, you need to get the tides right.
You have a number of beaches in the Penzance area, including Mousehole/St Clements Isle, Porthleven area, Rinsey, Prussia Cove…. as well as Porthcurno, Lamorna and Penberth.
Lizard area - Kynance (get there early!), Lizard Point or Cadgwith. All stunners. It’s a bit of a drive for most…so do a little mini-tour.
Falmouth shouldn’t be too bad. Head for Maenporth and Swanpool areas.
AVOID : You’ll pretty much want to avoid the whole of the north coast and St Ives. There’s not a lot of escape from a strong northly in those areas.
Whether you’re a wild dipping enthusiast or a serious open water swimmer - Cornwall offers more coastline than the rest of the south west put together…and what a coastline! I’m based in Penzance and we’re spoilt for choice but it’s the same throughout Cornwall. The main advantage we have in Penzance is that we have beaches and swims that pretty much face every direction. This obviously means that you can generally get a swim in regardless of the conditions, with minimal driving involved.
Photo supplied by www.saltwaterimages.co.uk
Here’s a run down of where to swim in various areas…although I may miss out some of my favourite ‘secret spots’ :
ST IVES : Carbis Bay is always a winning choice - clear water, sheltered from S wind/conditions. Easy to add distance if you want an adventurous swim. Rarely any swell. You could attempt the ‘Island’ if you’re feeling really adventurous but we’d recommend a guide and prefect conditions. Any of the town beaches offer beautiful wild dip opportunities.
PENZANCE : the whole of the Mousehole area is world class, especially at high tide. Porthleven Harbour is a swim you’ll remember but again you’ll need a guide, you need to get the tide right. You have several beaches around the Porthcurno area…and if you’re really adventurous you can try and find the beach at Zennor…it is a bit of a scramble down to it mind.
NEWQUAY : can be tricky as it’s hard to escape a westerly wind and big or rough seas if the conditions are challenging. The Gannel Estuary at high is a stunner! As is Crantock Beach when the conditions are flat. You can travel north to Mother Ivey’s Bay. Whipsiddery to Watergate is one of my fave’s but it’s quite secluded…only attempt that one if the conditions are right, you’re a competent & experienced swimmer and you have company.
ST AUSTELL : straight to either Charlestown or Porthpean. A swim from one to the other…and possibly back. Can’t go wrong! Gorran Haven just down the road is also worth a mention and visit. Lovely little village, full of character. There is another beach in the Gorran Haven area…but I don’t want to upset the locals!
FALMOUTH : I’ve always enjoyed getting off the main drag in Falmouth and popping around the corner from Gyllyngvase to Swanpool or Maenporth. Great spots from swimming!
THE LIZARD : Oh boy! Take your pick. Kynance, Cadgwith, Lizard Point, Church Cove…. Take a few days off.
Photo courtesy of www.saltwaterimages.co.uk
We’ll check in at a later date and talk about north Cornwall.
St Ives offers some fantastic swims in the local area and a great holiday destination, where a car isn’t really required and open water swims are in easy walking distance.
Most of the beaches and swims in St Ives face north / north east. If you have any wind, with a reasonable strength you may be out of luck when it comes to swimming. Anything from the south however and you’re in luck. It’s useful to point out, at this stage that the coast around Penzance mainly faces south….so a northerly wind isn’t the end of the world! Penzance is also easily reachable from St Ives, on train or bus.
In the main town Porthmeor beach is better known for its surfing. If it’s flat, Porthmeor offers a really nice swim…either wild dip or a more lengthy swim. Swimming around the ‘Island’ is a fantastic experience but I’d exercise caution. You’d need to attempt this is really flat, calm conditions and I definitely wouldn’t attempt it by yourself. Taking water safety / a guide would be your best bet.
Porthgwidden Beach is a lesser known beach in St Ives and offers stunning swims. It suits shorter swim routes or a wild swim.
The harbour itself offers sheltered conditions but you’d obviously have to be careful of harbour traffic. You could only really swim in the harbour towards high tide.
Porthminster Beach also offers beautiful swims into the harbour and around the corner to Carbis Bay. Again, exercise caution if you decide to swim around to Carbis and assess the conditions before you swim.
Carbis Bay is my favourite. You don’t have to drive into St Ives itself to access the beach and there’s ample parking in the car park (on the hill) and it’s on the train route. From Carbis you can swim at the beach itself, swim around towards St Ives or the other way to Porthkidney (towards high tide).
If you’re a swim fan, St Ives is a must visit. With all swims obviously make sure you take all the necessary safety precautions.
