Wild Swimming - exploring Britains outdoor swimming places

In Britain there are countless locations to enjoy a cool, refreshing outdoor dip. On a hot summers day what could be more refreshing than to take a dip in the cool clear waters of a river, mountain stream, lake or tarn or even laze under a waterfall and swim in the plunge pool. With Britain's beaches now being cleaner than ever before why not explore our coastline and discover sandy beaches, secret coves and smugglers’ caves.

Always choose a safe swimming location and obey any warning signs. When swimming in open water you should be a strong, competent swimmer. Always be aware of strong currents, rip tides and underwater dangers and ensure that you have a safe point of ingress and egress.  

Alice Roberts recently presented an interesting documentary about Wild Swimming on BBC4, following in the footsteps of the late Roger Deakin who was an early advocate of wild swimming. In addition to swimming in some beautiful rivers, lakes and tarns Alice goes swimming in some underground rivers in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

You can watch this programme via the BBC4 homepage.

For more information about wild swimming visit: http://www.wildswimming.co.uk/