FEATURES
In-depth features that celebrate the vibrant outdoor swimming community, spotlighting extraordinary individuals and their stories.
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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…
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4-way English Channel swimmer Sarah Thomas talks cold water tolerance
At first, cold water tolerance was a necessary evil for me to succeed in swimming – but I learnt to…
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Our favourite swim books and authors from 2020
Ella Foote takes a look back at some of her favourite authors from 2020 and reveals the titles we should…
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Jaimie Monahan: Queen of Manhattan
Jaimie Monahan, record-breaking marathon swimmer and Queen of the Ice, talks to Luke Chamberlain about her love affair with New…
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No one owns the sea
On 20 July Stephen Redmond became the first person to complete the 45km swim from Baltimore in Ireland to the…
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Urban swimming in Berlin – exploring the land of 3000 lakes
Peter and Dawn Springett moved to Germany in 2017. Here’s a guide to the local swimming culture and their favourite…
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How lockdown could make you a better swimmer
Swim coach Ray Gibbs from Swim Canary Wharf and Alice Todd from SwimQuest Holidays discuss the benefits of a break…
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“What happened when I swam for 30 days in a row in the Thames in November”
In winter, I’m a pool swimmer. After a summer of swimming outdoors, I use the autumn and winter months to…
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How do you stay a swimmer when swimming isn’t an option?
How do you stay a swimmer when swimming isn’t an option?
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“I may have had cancer, but it isn’t going to rule my life”
Audrey Hellen shares her swimming story I was always a pool swimmer as a child, representing my school and the…
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What does hypothermia look like?
We spoke to the experts to prepare this best-practice guide to spotting hypothermia and rewarming cold swimmers when swimming in…
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Improving accessibility to outdoor swimming for deaf swimmers
By Caroline Hurley All my life I have seen and experienced so many barriers to deaf swimmers. These created anxiety,…
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Five things about swimming I wish I’d learnt sooner
1. Cold water is not as big a barrier as you think it will be This might seem a strange…
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Diary of a Wandering Swimmer – a swing rope to the past
Kate Gillwood was born in Galashiels, Scotland, raised from three years old in Yorkshire, found herself in London for 30…
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Diary of a wandering swimmer – jumping trout in the wind
Kate Gillwood was born in Galashiels, Scotland, raised from three years old in Yorkshire, found herself in London for 30…
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How to tell if you’re hypothermic when swimming in cold water
You asked I am a fairly experienced winer swimmer and recently converted to wetsuits in order to get more swimming…
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The lockdown effect: how swimmers’ behaviours have changed this year
Simon Griffiths wonders if outdoor swimming is like chocolate: he wants more! I witnessed something remarkable on the first Sunday…
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It’s cold, murky, there’s a strong current and it could be polluted – but yes, you can swim
The Thames on a chilly autumn morning. Surprisingly hard to resist swimming, apparently. Outdoor swimming has a habit of delivering…
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Jini Reddy: travelling the UK in search of magic in the landscape
Author Jini Reddy is in pursuit of the divine and explores this in her new book Wanderland: A Search for…
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Why it’s OK to make a living from swimming
I saw a Facebook post today that railed bitterly against people making a profit from swimming. The accompanying comments suggested…
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Why would you pay someone to take you swimming?
Like so many outdoor swimmers today, I was fortunate to get my experience in open water from a combination of…
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Outdoor swimming in Jersey
Jersey packs a punch when it comes to outdoor swimming. The 48 long miles of beautiful coastline, coupled with some…
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Madeira Island Ultra Swim 2020
A navigation error made this swim harder than it should have been, but ultimately more satisfying Swim events have been…
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Sarah Thomas and her historic 4-way crossing of the English Channel
In the early hours of Sunday 15 September 2019, Sarah Thomas set off on an unprecedented four-way English Channel swim.…
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After a summer spent swimming exclusively outdoors, I’m strangely reluctant to return to the pool
Would you choose this or a pool? I typically swim four or five times a week in a pool. At…
