Are you ready to plunge into the world of open-water swimming? Picture yourself gliding through crystal-clear waters, surrounded by the beauty of nature, and feeling a sense of freedom unlike any other. Open-water swimming is a thrilling and invigorating activity that allows you to connect with the elements and push your boundaries. In this guide, we'll provide all the information you need to embark on your open-water swimming journey, from finding the best locations near you to understanding the essential equipment and embracing its many benefits.
Whether you're an experienced open-water swimmer seeking new challenges or a curious beginner eager to explore this captivating sport, we've got you covered. Discover the hidden gems of open water swimming spots across the UK, including popular areas like London, Canary Wharf, Surrey, Manchester, and Cardiff. We'll guide you to serene lakes, meandering rivers, and stunning coastal stretches, offering the perfect setting for aquatic adventures. Along the way, you'll learn about upcoming open-water swimming events and races that will add an exciting competitive edge to your swimming journey. So, dive into open-water swimming and unlock a new exhilaration and accomplishment.
What is open-water swimming?
You might have heard of "open water swimming" before without being told exactly what it means. Fortunately, it is exactly as it sounds. Open water swimming means swimming in a body of water not enclosed by a building, meaning that the term includes swimming in seas, oceans, lakes and rivers.
One of the most common questions we'll answer right away, but will go into more detail later, is: Is it dangerous? Open-water swimming is often considered slightly more dangerous than swimming in a pool because it adds unpredictability and requires much more knowledge.
With that said, open-water swimming is really about as dangerous as you want to make it. Of course, suppose you decide that without any experience, or professional accompaniment, you're just going to dive right into the open ocean during a storm. In that case, things probably won't end too well for you. But on the other end, taking a dip in a slow-moving local river doesn't come with many risks.
Just how popular is open-water swimming?
You might be wondering. You might infer from the ease with which you stumbled upon this article that the sport is quite popular, and you'd be correct. Open water swimming has always been quite popular in the UK, and it's actually on the rise in recent times; perhaps as a consequence of the covid lockdowns, people have been avoiding public pools and instead opting to swim in local open bodies of water, to avoid the crowdedness that comes with a public facility.
Is open water swimming easy to get into?
We'll go into more detail on this soon, but generally speaking, the sport is welcoming and without a shortage of venues, however, it does come with some prerequisites that must be considered. For example, one of the most important things to consider is the weather. On any given day, the same stream or lake might have a completely different temperature to the last time you visited it; you must be prepared when it comes to such changes, which means bringing a wetsuit on colder days to avoid suffering from hypothermia. Equally important to consider is the ever-looming threat of high currents that might sweep you away unexpectedly if you don't first enquire about the waters from someone who knows their stuff.
You might have realised it by now… The single most important thing when it comes to making the difference between perfectly safe or stupidly dangerous open water swimming is information. So long as you do your research before diving in, there is nothing to worry about!
A Beginners Guide to Open Water Swimming:
We will break down your approach to open-water swimming into a brief checklist. Once you've ticked all the boxes, you're ready to take matters into your own hands and immerse yourself in the tides.
- Are you able to swim? - It goes without saying, but to swim in open waters, you need to be at least able to swim at all, the criteria for which would be the understanding and ability to perform the basic swimming strokes, i.e. front crawl, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly, in addition to being able to stay afloat on your back, and tread water for an at least a few minutes. If this all sounds familiar to you, then great! You can check this box right away. Otherwise, I recommend checking out a more official source, such as a lifeguard or swimming instructor, to find out if you'd be a safe swimmer for yourself and those around you.
- Do you have somebody to go with? - It is never recommended to go swimming in open water alone! It doesn't matter how safe the body of water might seem or how competent you are, accidents can happen to anybody, and if there's no one around to help you in a sticky situation, you might end up regretting glossing over this part of the checklist. Besides, open water swimming is more fun with friends anyway, so make sure you find someone interested in picking up the sport or maybe make some friends with an experienced practitioner at a local club or event.
- Do you have the gear? - Cold temperatures are no joke, especially in northern climates like the UK. If you plan on making open-water swimming a regular hobby, you won't always be able to count on the sunshine to warm the water. Don't let that deter you, though; these days, you can get your hands on a half or full wetsuit (depending on your needs), for a very reasonable price. Even if you don't use it often, it's a nice investment since it means that even if it's just a day at the beach, the cold water will be much less daunting to you as the proud owner of some insulation clothing.
- Do you have a venue? - Lastly, you'll need to find somewhere to use your skills and equipment well. Fortunately, if you're a UK reader, we live on an island, so we're never too far from the sea or, at the very least a river or stream that feeds into it. Search on social media, like Facebook and Instagram, for nearby clubs and groups. Chances are, even if you don't join, their pages will point out some of the best spots and areas in your vicinity. You can always make your way to the closest public beach too. There's a high likelihood that if other kinds of aquatic sports, such as surfboarding, occur nearby, the waters will also be suitable for swimming.
Ticked all the boxes? Awesome, that means you're just about ready to get involved and enjoy an exciting new aquatic leisure activity. Even if you don't think you'll make it a part of your regular timetable, since you're prepared enough to try it, why not just go for it! You never know until you try whether you'll pass up on what could become the thing you look forward to most. Life is all about experimenting and trying things out, and open water swimming is certainly no exception!
Benefits of Open Water Swimming for Health and Organisation
It might have occurred to you that open water swimming is ultimately just another variation of swimming as a whole and that whether you're indoors or outdoors in nature, you're still a swimmer nonetheless. If that's the case, you're absolutely right, but consider the tremendous implications of this revelation.
Whether you're already an avid swimmer or not, the addition of open water swimming to your repertoire means that you'll benefit from increased flexibility when it comes to practising the sport as a whole. On a rainy day, an open water swimmer can still somewhat maintain their routine by spending some time in an indoor pool.
Looking at the same situation from the perspective of someone who already swims in pools or doesn't swim at all but would like to get into it, you can use the pool as a way to build up the skill and confidence needed to tackle the open water variation of the sport eventually. Since open water swimming might be daunting, you can use the wave machines at certain leisure centre pools to acclimate to a dynamic swimming environment.
It's also worth mentioning that there probably isn't a better place to stumble into fellow open-water swimming enthusiasts. You may even find fellow synchronised swimmers. If you're nervous about trying it out and have no one to go with, chances are somebody at your local pool is also into open-water swimming and can help you find friends and communities to associate with to get your feet wet.
To summarise: By taking up open water swimming, you're essentially merging two seemingly distinct activities together and opening yourself up to a world of convenience and choice. You're also gaining a hobby that you can practise year round, whatever the weather, that has an abundant community and plenty of people to get help and advice from.
Dive into Open Water Swimming: Explore, Learn, and Discover!
Thank you for reading this brief introduction to open-water swimming. I hope you found it informative, and hopefully, you're one step closer to trying out open-water swimming for yourself.
If you want to read about other exciting hobbies or broaden your horizon in more traditional academic subjects, check out some other articles here on Superprof. There are plenty of different topics to get stuck into, and I'm sure that whoever you are, you'll find something that will interest you.
Whatever you choose to do, the folks here at Superprof wish you a pleasant rest of your day and hope you check back soon to read and learn more. Until then, see you around!
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