June 2026 ‘DIY Swimming’
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It was meeting other swimmers that taught me that I didn’t have to ask permission, enter an event or seek some sort of authority to allow me to have a swimming adventure. In my 20s, while seeking challenges and projects to keep me buoyant while I worked a dull job and was in a questionable relationship, I found friendship in the water that opened a whole world of swimming I hadn’t ever considered.
Meeting strangers who quickly became friends, I got to meet their friends and make connections across the UK and eventually, after many years, around the world. These people, who all shared a common interest in swimming, showed me the way. They demonstrated that swimming could be more than a distance, time, temperature or task. They reminded me it could be fun! They uncovered my curious explorer side, the version of me I had forgotten, the one that liked maps and discovery. The person that likes to wonder, wander and create, and I quickly learned that I could combine all this with my love of swimming.
This month’s issue is a celebration of all of this, DIY (Do-It-Yourself) swimming is about knowing you can create your swims based on your wants, needs and ability. Some of the most iconic swimming events, holidays and routes came from a swimmer or two doing it first, making the mistakes and shaping something we could all do again and again. The Dart 10K was born from swimming friends pootling downstream, the Henley Swim Events started from two rowers who liked to swim and many swimming destinations offered by our favourite swim-tour operators were born out of swimmers visiting those places and seeing how others could enjoy the water too.
Have you ever wondered what was beyond your regular river spot? Looked out to a piece of land across a body of water and wondered, could you swim across to it? This issue celebrates all those swimmers who swam ahead of you and now you can draft on their experience.
Not sure how to begin? Our experts will be sharing tips and ideas. Summer is a great time for these sorts of adventures because the conditions allow for us to be more fluid and fun with our time. Make the most of it, dive in!
Ella Foote, Editor
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- Land beneath the waves
Writer Nic Wilson’s memoir, Land Beneath the Waves, is out this month. Here she shares her journey through wild swimming, chronic illness and rediscovering joy in nature’s embrace - Q&A with Gilly McArthur, author of ‘The Beauty of Cold’
Outdoor swimming coach and cold water expert Gilly McArthur’s new book, The Beauty of Cold, is out this month, here she shares more - Out of scrubs, into the water
Consultant doctor Dr. Zoltan Györgyi shares how outdoor swimming became his way to find freedom, resilience and balance beyond the pressures of everyday life - Only rhythm remains
Gul Nur Tunca shares his son Tuna’s story of high performance and endurance in elite open water swimming and how it can exist alongside neurodiversity, without framing it as limitation. - Weekend swim retreat: Budock Vean Hotel & Spa, Cornwall
Weekend escapes with a swimming opportunity – Ella Foote shares her experience of the Budock Vean Hotel and Spa on the Helford River, Cornwall - What supplements are beneficial to swimmers?
Supplements for swimmers focus on hydration, muscle recovery and performance. Jo Tinsley spoke to four nutrition experts for their recommendations. - Plunging into pura vida
Swimming holidays are great fun for all, but planning your own is something else. Regular contributor Liz Lowe shares her recent trip to Costa Rica - Build your own adventure
There’s enormous joy to be found in building your own adventure, not for performance but for play, says editor Ella Foote - Mediterranean Dreams
Rowan Clarke tries ‘bookending’ the open water season with a dream swim in Antalya, Türkiye - Dryrobe® Pure: a new innovation in robe lining
Dryrobe brings our new Dryrobe® Pure – the world’s first 100% industrially compostable inner pile fabric ever used in an outdoor application, which doesn’t shed microplastics - Plan your own event training
The preparation needed for a 400m sprint in a pool would be very different from that required for a long-distance open-water sea swim. The more specific we can make our training, the better prepared we will be to succeed, says swim coach Vivienne Rickman - Active sunglasses
Floating sunglasses, polarised lenses with crystal clear clarity or robust frames made from abandoned fishing gear: we test the best sunglasses for wild swimmers - Trail running kit
Trail running provides a similar connection with nature and sense of flow to open water swimming. Here is some kit you might find handy… - How personal goals transform your time in the pool
Training for your own challenge isn’t about racing the person in the next lane or hitting elite level times. It’s about designing a personal mission that excites you, stretches you and keeps you coming back for more, says swim coach Nicola Butler - Yokehill: establishing a new open water swimming venue
Marathon swimmer and multi-ice miler, David Coleman discovers having a lake to swim in is just the beginning of a process to make it swimmable - Swim camping kit
A swim camping trip requires balancing lightweight gear with quick-drying, water resistant accessories and clever packing solutions - Alice Dearing’s guide to DIY swim challenges
Channel your innate sense of curiosity and exploration, says Alice Dearing - My Lake Annecy challenge
Jharna Kumawat tells us about her swim project that is ambitious and yet simple - Hector Pardoe: This time it’s personal
Alice Dearing sat down with the King of the Lakes and two times Olympian, Hector Pardoe, to ask how it felt to swim the three largest lakes in each of the UK’s home nations back-to-back in under 24 hours and to learn about his ambition to take on one iconic swim challenge per year - Unchartered waters
Why design your own open water swimming adventures? Rowan Clarke finds out - How to plan your own swim adventure
Embrace the adventure inherent in outdoor swimming says Simon Griffiths - DIY challenges
Challenges on a grand scale or a daily scale – they are all valid and important, says adaptive swimmer Sophie Etheridge - Review: THEMAGIC5 Vector, £75
We tested the THEMAGIC5 Vector, the new generation custom-fit goggles by the world’s only custom swim goggle company. Here’s how we got on. - Swimmer’s Ear: why it happens and what to do about it
Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi shares his expert guidance on Swimmer’s Ear, including why it happens and how to treat and prevent it
