FEATURES

In-depth features that celebrate the vibrant outdoor swimming community, spotlighting extraordinary individuals and their stories.

5 wild foods to forage after your spring swim

Wild garlic Rock samphire Seaweed – gutweed Wild flowers (gorse, primrose, magnolia) Infuse in tea,
Diary of a Wandering Swimmer – An Unusual Tide

Kate Gillwood was born in Galashiels, Scotland, raised from three years old in Yorkshire, found herself in London for 30…
Can I train for a long distance swim outdoors in winter?

We received the following question from Ian in Northern Ireland: I’ve entered a long swim in 2022 and I’m wondering…
Diary of a wandering swimmer – a clear sweetie

I can see my feet so clearly it almost looks like they aren’t even in water at all.
Does outdoor swimming make Raynaud’s worse?

Raynaud’s symptoms generally disappear when you warm up, but many swimmers are concerned that a repeated triggering of symptoms could…
Wild Swimming: How to spot a clean river

The state of UK rivers is a hot topic in the media, but are they safe to swim in? Dip…
The lido initiatives helping to improve accessibility for swimmers

Emma Pusill reports on the positive changes happening at lidos despite the practical difficulties of increasing accessibility
How to deal with your barriers to swimming outdoors

Outdoor swimming has barriers to overcome before you experience the benefits. It's better to acknowledge them rather than pretend they…
Mayank Vaid: Swimming around Hong Kong

On 27 October, Hong Kong swimmer Mayank Vaid completed his second full circumnavigation of the island - 45km in 14…
Anatomy of a winter swim

Winter swimming has the capacity to absorb an enormous amount of time for very little actual swimming. However, that’s not…
How good a swimmer are you? Try our fun test

There's more to being a good swimmer than being fast
When can I start swimming and training outside?

Spring has arrived. The open water is warming up. We’re optimistic about being able to do some outdoor swimming events…
A beginner’s guide to wild swimming

Daniel Start, author of Wild Swimming, shares his top tips for taking the plunge. ‘Wild Swimming’ is the ancient art…
How to choose prescription goggles

Off-the-shelf prescription goggles only correct for distance, not astigmatism, so in order to calculate the power for your goggles, you…
The native origins of freestyle

How white people named a style of swimming indigenous people had mastered millennia before
How much do shoes slow you down when you’re swimming?

The first time I swam in shoes, I discovered my feet were more important to swimming than I thought, even…
Keep your phone safe while swimming

In spring 2022, I upgraded to a new phone. I’d been struggling with an ageing Huawei that I’d hung onto…
How is open water swimming different to the pool?

Understanding what you are getting into will give a big boost to your confidence levels and help keep you safe…
Is outdoor swimming safe?

Is outdoor swimming safe?
“Swimming outdoors helps me cope with the loss of my daughter”

After losing his daughter to cancer, Alan Holmes has found that outdoor swimming helps with stress and lifts his mood during dark times.…
Opinion: Open water swimmers should be treated the same as their counterparts from more popular sports

It is hypocritical to condemn elite open water swimmers seeking exemptions to travel to swim this year, while embracing other…
Photo gallery: The underwater wonders of the UK’s seas

The Marine Conservation Society shares a selection of ocean photography showcasing the incredible animals on the UK's shores From the…
Thames Swimming – Teddington Lock to Molesey Lock

The Thames is not often as clear of traffic as this How swimmers can reduce the risk of collisions on…
Swimterview: Lucy Jones, author of Losing Eden

Missing the great outdoors and wild water? Ella Foote chats to Losing Eden Author Lucy Jones to discover why nature…
5 minutes with author Jini Reddy

Ahead of the paperback release of Wanderland: A search for magic in the landscape, we catch up with author Jini…