Already in 2025 some hardy swimmers have taken the New Year’s plunge into the North Sea, despite gale force winds. Word from the shores is that numbers were down on previous years though.
Luckily, the Christmas events enjoyed better weather, with people taking part in organised wild swims all around our coast, from Southend to the Wash. Both Hunstanton on Christmas Day and Aldeburgh on Boxing Day attracted hundreds of participants, many hoping to raise money for charity.
If you enjoy a sauna, you can pair it with a plunge in the sea. Sauna Box provide saunas in a horsebox, which is much nicer than it sounds! There aren’t many locations served yet, unfortunately, but the company is expanding. I have to say, the moonlight ones really are amazing.
Some people don’t wait for special events to take regular plunges into cold water. Until dodgy knees made it too hard for me to get up quickly enough between waves, I used to sea swim regularly. Not as often as I would have liked to, but I don’t live on the coast. I did manage at least once every month of the year though, being most active in the coldest months.
What’s the appeal?
Unless you’re an open water swimmer yourself, you probably wonder what the attraction is. For me, it was the sheer joy of the whole experience. It’s difficult to put that into words, because wading into water at 4°C does not sound attractive. I promise I’m not a masochist though!
Once you get through the initial shock it starts to feel lovely. As well as the feel of the water, the light is different. Just being by the sea is a great antidote to my Seasonal Affective Disorder, I suspect because the light is reflected so I get more of it, or maybe it just lifts my spirits so much.
Fellow swimmers in the little group I went with put it down to endorphins. Like any physical exercise, swimming boosts these brain chemicals. As well as making you feel good, they provide pain relief – so no doubt contribute to not thinking about how cold the water is.
I asked one of the trainers at our local pool. Sally is a triathlete (no wonder she really puts us through it in aquarobics). For her, swimming is an essential part of her training regime and she swims in the sea as often as she can.
For my neighbour Vivia, the sea is her happy place. She doesn’t swim with a group but has a clear structure to her swims. Before starting she checks the tides and sea conditions and knows where the Felixstowe currents are. She sets off from below her beach hut and swims parallel to the shore, with a clear target point in mind. It sounds almost as much an intellectual exercise as a physical one.
Staying safe
If you’re interested in open water swimming, the Outdoor Swimming Society (OSS) website has lots of good advice, but I do take issue with their mention of swimming alone. Vivia is cautious and knows what she’s doing. If you’re just starting out, you could be putting yourself at serious risk.
Going with a group gives you access to knowledge about local conditions, good company and, if it’s a really good group, a spotter. Someone higher up the shore keeping an eye on everyone means a quick alert if there’s a need to summon help.
There is a list of groups on the OSS website – note Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire groups are listed in the South East, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk are in East Anglia. There are other, usually smaller, groups that aren’t listed there, too, so ask around. Some groups always swim at the same time, usually early mornings. Others depend on the tides and tidal river swimmers will often swim on an incoming tide.
You don’t need a wetsuit to swim all year round, but it is a good idea to have neoprene gloves in colder weather. Those santa hats the festive dippers wear have a serious function – keeping your head warm is important. It might look odd seeing swimmers bobbing around in woolly hats, but it you keep your head out of the water they do keep it warm.
Gear for the cold
Warm clothing for afterwards is essential, but you don’t need to invest in a special robe. Yes, they’re really nice and can be worn anywhere but a nice big towelling robe will do the job of getting you dry.
Beach shoes are a good idea whenever you swim outdoors. They don’t just keep your feet warmer, they help protect against pebble cuts. Cuts are more of a danger for the ingestion of nasties than ingesting the water – it’s usually possible to avoid swallowing it.
Pollution has been in the news again today. Yes, it is a worry. Personally, I’ve never seen anything nasty but it’s the things you don’t see that are the concern. I did once have an upset tummy after swimming, but I don’t know for certain the swim was the cause.
Despite its name, Surfers Against Sewage monitor inland waterways as well as the sea. They have a free app, from which they produce a real time map of alerts. At the time of writing East Anglia is the part of England with most ticks and fewest crosses, which is reassuring.
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