2025 Activity & Suitability

At this stage, lots of our swimming activity has booked up BUT we still have availability on a number of activities and swims.

Below, we’ll highlight different swimming abilities and which activities will be suitable. We go over 3 categories of swimmers, from ‘bobbers and plodders’, slow swimming middle distance & middle and longer distance swims.

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BOBBER, PLODDER, SHORT DISTANCE, NOVICE…

These activities will be suitable for people looking to have a good old social, bit of a dip with water safety, in very favourable conditions, looking at beautiful surrounding and areas a bit off the main drag.

JUNE 21 : St Anthony’s Lighthouse leisurely and short(er) swim (flexible distance). Stunning location, with multiple members on the water safety team. Option to swim again later in St Mawes. Bit of coastal path walking and steps to access. CLICK HERE for more info.

JULY 4 : Leisurely Crantock double. Two dips, one at Polly Joke and one on the Gannel Estuary (bit of a swoosh). Again, a certain degree of choice to distance. Beautiful part of Cornwall. Coastal path access. CLICK HERE for additional information.

JULY 8 : Slow Swimming Holiday, West Cornwall. This one also includes the option of a vineyard tour, at the award winning Polgoon Vineyard. Swims picked from a number of stunning west Cornwall options. Swims completed at a slow(er) pace, distances of around 800-1500m…depending on the swimmer. CLICK HERE to view the booking page.

JULY 16 : St Mawes Double. Very casual, leisurely shorter distance swims. Swimming in stunning, sheltered conditions. This would be ideal for a lovely day out. Fairly easy access, either down some steps or down a slipway. To find out more, CLICK HERE.

AUG 6 : Shorter swim at Porthcurno, swimming out to the point and getting a great sea side view of the Minack Theatre. We’ll then swim across the beach. Optional distance swim, to a degree. Access to the beach across a 250m coastal path and then 200m over a sandy beach. Bucketlist worthy swim in the right conditions…CLICK HERE for more.

SEPT 20 : Sunset and night swim opportunity to swim in a lake that rarely has public access. An event for all and has the option of a lake side sauna. CLICK HERE.

SEPT 21 : Rare opportunity to swim in a lake with very limited access. Lake is positioned near Falmouth. You’ll also have the opportunity to pop into the lake-side sauna post-swim. Perfect for swimmers of any ability. Fairly easy access across a slightly uneven woodland path. CLICK HERE for additional info.

OCT 4 : Full moon swimming event, on the Lizard Peninsula. Ideal for anyone that can swim. Appropriate for all swimming abilities. A large degree of choice when it comes to how long you’re in the water and how far you swim. Great activity to do with a group of friends. Very easy access into the water. Get more info, CLICK HERE.

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SLOWER SWIMMING MIDDLE DISTANCE

JUNE 21 : St Anthony’s Lighthouse leisurely and short(er) swim (flexible distance). Stunning location, with multiple members on the water safety team. Option to swim again later in St Mawes. Bit of coastal path walking and steps to access. CLICK HERE for more info.

JUNE 21 : Meander up the Percuil River. Approx 3km up and back down the Percuil. A stunning river and should be a stunning swim. Aimed at the middle lane of your average public swimming session. Faster swimmers can attend but may well need to double back occasionally. Read on, CLICK HERE.

JULY 4 : Leisurely Crantock double. Two dips, one at Polly Joke and one on the Gannel Estuary (bit of a swoosh). Again, a certain degree of choice to distance. Beautiful part of Cornwall. Coastal path access. CLICK HERE for additional information.

JULY 8 : Slow Swimming Holiday, West Cornwall. This one also includes the option of a vineyard tour, at the award winning Polgoon Vineyard. Swims picked from a number of stunning west Cornwall options. Swims completed at a slow(er) pace, distances of around 800-1500m…depending on the swimmer. CLICK HERE to view the booking page.

JULY 19 : Lantic Bay Double. A rare opportunity to try out a couple of swims right up the county. A lovely beach and beautiful surrounds. Find out further info - CLICK HERE.

AUG 2 : St Mawes / Roseland 5K Day. A series of swims over the course of the day…equating to 5km. We’ll pick the best swims for that days conditions. We’ll also plan them, to minimise travel and problem parking. CLICK HERE and find out more.

AUG 6 : Longer swim at Porthcurno, swimming out to Logan Rock and back. Perfect swim in the right conditions. Access to the beach across a 250m coastal path and then 200m over a sandy beach. Bucketlist worthy swim in the right conditions…CLICK HERE for more.

SEPT 2 : these holidays always book very well. The Lizard Peninsula offers so many world class swims! Access to most swims are fairly straight forward but do require some walking over coastal paths, beaches, the odd rock hop… CLICK HERE to view options.

SEPT 19 : Our ‘End of season’ swimming holiday covers a huge range of swims, with a central base for the swimming holiday. As part of the holiday you also get entry to our night swimming event. It’s a great way to see out the season. Swims will cover a range of speeds and offer variable distances. CLICK HERE to read more…

SEPT 20 : Sunset and night swim opportunity to swim in a lake that rarely has public access. An event for all and has the option of a lake side sauna. CLICK HERE.

OCT 4 : Full moon swimming event, on the Lizard Peninsula. Ideal for anyone that can swim. Appropriate for all swimming abilities. A large degree of choice when it comes to how long you’re in the water and how far you swim. Great activity to do with a group of friends. Very easy access into the water. Get more info, CLICK HERE.

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MIDDLE & LONGER DISTANCE SWIMS

JUNE 21 : Meander up the Percuil River. Approx 3km up and back down the Percuil. A stunning river and should be a stunning swim. Aimed at the middle lane of your average public swimming session. Faster swimmers can attend but may well need to double back occasionally. Read on, CLICK HERE.

JULY 8 : Slow Swimming Holiday, West Cornwall. This one also includes the option of a vineyard tour, at the award winning Polgoon Vineyard. Swims picked from a number of stunning west Cornwall options. Swims completed at a slow(er) pace, distances of around 800-1500m…depending on the swimmer BUT we can easily add distance and faster swimmers can swim ahead and double back. CLICK HERE to view the booking page.

JULY 19 : Lantic Bay Double. A rare opportunity to try out a couple of swims right up the county. A lovely beach and beautiful surrounds. Find out further info - CLICK HERE.

AUG 2 : St Mawes / Roseland 5K Day. A series of swims over the course of the day…equating to 5km. We’ll pick the best swims for that days conditions. We’ll also plan them, to minimise travel and problem parking. CLICK HERE and find out more.

AUG 6 : Longer swim at Porthcurno, swimming out to Logan Rock and back. Perfect swim in the right conditions. Access to the beach across a 250m coastal path and then 200m over a sandy beach. Bucketlist worthy swim in the right conditions…CLICK HERE for more.

SEPT 2 : these holidays always book very well. The Lizard Peninsula offers so many world class swims! Access to most swims are fairly straight forward but do require some walking over coastal paths, beaches, the odd rock hop… CLICK HERE to view options.

SEPT 19 : Our ‘End of season’ swimming holiday covers a huge range of potential swims, with a central base for the swimming holiday. As part of the holiday you also get entry to our night swimming event. It’s a great way to see out the season. Swims will cover a range of speeds and offer variable distances. CLICK HERE to read more…

SEPT 20 : Sunset and night swim opportunity to swim in a lake that rarely has public access. An event for all and has the option of a lake side sauna. CLICK HERE.

OCT 4 : Full moon swimming event, on the Lizard Peninsula. Ideal for anyone that can swim. Appropriate for all swimming abilities. A large degree of choice when it comes to how long you’re in the water and how far you swim. Great activity to do with a group of friends. Very easy access into the water. Get more info, CLICK HERE.

The winds influence on swimming conditions

This morning I made a video looking at how the wind will impact on your swim and it's influence on choppy conditions. We cover the basics and some slightly more technical stuff. We use Long Rock Beach as an example. *What I don’t mention is that if the wind gets really strong it tend to have a habit of bouncing off surfaces, bending round headlands and cliffs...the rules go out the window a little.

I use the example in the video of Long Rock Beach but the principles can be used at any beach. Be aware that there are more factors to consider than just the wind. We don’t go over tides, rips, rivers, estuaries, weather patterns etc in this video.

If you’re unsure how to view the wind direction or how to look it up online, click below and read our blog post on exactly that.

Swimming at Charlestown, St Austell

Typically any moderate wind direction, other than a fairly rare easterly works at Charlestown. Taking all necessary precautions, you can swim out of the harbour or opt for safer entry off the beach immediately next to the harbour…on either side. From there you have a number of options. *If you are swimming from the harbour check the tide. There isn’t a lot of water at low tide! A very short swim may include entry in the harbour and a swim around the corner to the beach. A longer swim may include a round-swim to Duporth Bay to the south (anywhere from 1-2km) or circular route from Charlestown to Porthpean Beach and back (approx 3km). Please be aware that some of the route is quite secluded and these swims would be best with a swim ‘buddy’ and possibly tow floats. If unsure, swim these routes on an incoming tide.

…and here’s additional footage of Porthpean. Porthpean has a small car park just above the beach. Charlestown has a larger car park and some free on-road parking.

Selection of safe Swimming Guides

If you’re looking for swim-spiration for the 2022 summer here it is! I’ve selected a few safe swimming guides.

Plan your own salt water wild swimming trip

Unless you know the areas you’re swimming very well we’d always recommend a local guide…I appreciate that we are a local guide and it’s obviously in our interest but…it should always be safety first. If you get together as a group, the water safety can be very affordable and it’s always good to have someone with you that knows the local area and is familiar with the conditions.

Generally and if you’re swimming in areas without swell, the shallower the better. Again, without swell it’s generally better to swim on neap tides and on an incoming tide. Ideally on a slack tide (ie. 20 minutes either side of high/low tide. That’s because there is less water movement around these times…but be careful you don’t stay in too long after high, as the water will then start to flow out quite quickly.

WHERE TO START : ideally you’d choose two areas. Both facing opposite directions. That way, if there’s a strong onshore wind and chop on one coast, you can move across to the other. We often base ourselves in Penzance and the Lizard Peninsula for that exact reason. In an ideal world you’d have a light off-shore breeze.
If you’re planning a series of swims your best bet is to find a central parking location and park up early. You could then potentially walk or cycle to multiple swim locations.

THE SWIMS : try and pick swims with multiple exit points. Have a plan B. If there is water movement and you can’t get in you’ll already have an exit point. This will potentially avoid panic, which typically leads to silly decisions…

HELP : inform the RNLI/coastguard/local lifeguards of your plans. Give details regarding timings, swim locations and numbers. Also, look up local businesses. If you’re quite remote and don’t have phone r3ception, they might. Taking a mobile, VHF radio or rescue beacon is always a good idea.

VISIBILTY : just the usual. Take a bright swimming cap, tow float etc.

ADDITIONAL SAFETY : do a head count in and out. You could also take emergency contact info and med records for everyone.

RESCUE EQUIPMENT : something like a SUP could be ideal. It’s not specifically designed for rescues but can cover distances quicker than swimming and can be used for buoyancy, should anyone get in any trouble. Visibly they’re also far easier to find in the sea. The group could take it in turns and an inflatable SUP are quit3 easy to transport.