This is very much a high tide swimming destination. Any other state of the tide and it’s simply too shallow. Great day out when you have a high tide afternoon and when the conditions are favourable ie. not blowing in from the south at any strength.
The beach is typically really quiet…so if you can get the conditions, you can have a section of beach all to yourself.
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.
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.
First option on all of our short-notice or planned weekend/midweek swims
Minimum of 10% off our short-notice swims - typically 25%
First option on events and 10% off
Occasional exclusive discounts on merchandise
First discounted option on any swimming holiday places that aren't booked up
We'll also invite you to bring a friend (at same reduced rate) on some swims
Discounted coaching sessions
*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
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.
You’ll find this delightful little cove, just tucked in around the corner from Penzance. With a long and colourful smuggling history.
In any northerly wind direction the cove offers some fantastic swims. The water at Prussia Cove is typically slightly cooler than other areas but the water is often very clear. You also have swimming options in the immediate area, from Prussia Cove to Keneggy or possibly further around to Praa Sands.
There are a number of parking options in the local area. With your best option being to park at Praa Sands and use the coastal path to walk over. The walk is stunning, as are the surroundings.
We’ve attached our safe swimming guide below. We’d also add that this can be a quiet area and quite remote. Be careful when swimming, especially if you’re covering distance around the cliffs and headlands. Also, avoid swimming just after high tide, on a large spring tide.
This is a swim we’ve been talking about for some time. Swimming out of Porthleven Harbour is always great (stick to flat conditions and away from the main, central channel whilst in the harbour). It can be a little tricky to plan as you need nice flat conditions and either a light N or NE wind. Today was the day however!
Swimming out of Porthleven Harbour is always spectacular. Once you swim around the corner you’re greeted by an underground forest of seaweed and boulders. As you pass the first corner you can follow the spectacular cliffs and rock formations for a good mile and a half. You get to see a few beautiful, remote, sandy beaches, as well as lots of cave formations (including Nichols Cove) . You then head straight towards Trewavas Mine, perched right on the edge of the cliff. As stunning as the mines are they’re also slightly soul destroying. They’re far enough away that every time you ‘sight’ them they look exactly the same distance away…which makes you feel like you’re getting nowhere for quite a while!
Once you pass the mines you’ll shimmy around the headland, complete a short stretch before you shimmy around the last point and you’re then on the home straight. I love swimming the Rinsey stretch. We were greeted by a shoal of thousands of Sand Eel, as well as the odd larger fish. At this stage boulders rise and fall as you swim over them, you swim over large patches of white sand and eventually end up at the beautiful Rinsey Cove.
We also had the bright idea of running the coastal path back. Having done very little training all year - what could go wrong!? It is an absolutely stunning route across the side of the cliffs/hills and absolutely brutal to run (unfit anyway!). Up and down STEEP hills for 4 miles.
Epic swim. Best to do in a group or with water safety cover. BE CAREFUL. Probably best to start just before high tide and do your research and planning.
