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.

Swimming Church Cove, the Lizard

We’ve wanted to cover this swim for some time. Church Cove is absolutely stunning. From the walk down, to the thatched roof cottages on the walk down, the tiny harbour, the swim itself… We finally had the perfect conditions and tide to offer this swim…although best not to do it on a low tide, like we did. Was slightly trickier to get out of the water than I would have liked. You might want to try this one a couple of hours after low tide. It’s also very remote, so definitely don’t try it by yourself and take the usual precautions.

Best on a westerly wind. SW light to medium strength winds will also work.

Amazing swim. You can swim right up to the Lizard Lifeboat Station. The water was crystal clear, with seaweed in patches, as well as stretches of white sand. On a higher tide there would be a couple of arches and caves to swim through. Stunning swim. Well worth the effort.

*For the more adventurous swimmers or swim-runner you could swim from Church Cove to Cadgwith (or the other way around) and run back to the car.

That’s it from us. We’ll let the video do the rest of the talking. Church Cove, the lizard Peninsula :

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.