Why are more and more swimmers shunning heated, chlorinated indoor swimming pools in favour of rivers, lakes and the sea?

Outdoor swimming has enjoyed a resurgence recently, whether people are bathing in backwaters, bays, lochs or lidos.So, what’s the attraction of swimming in chilly, often murky water, miles from the nearest hot shower – particularly at this time of the year, when hats and scarves surely constitute sensible outdoor clothing rather than swimwear?

For Kate Rew, Founder of the Outdoor Swimming Society, it’s all about simple pleasures. ‘It gives you freedom, joy and relaxation,’ says Kate, author of Wild Swim, a guide to outdoor swimming locations around the UK coast and inland waters. ‘You reconnect with nature, which switches off your mind from everyday stresses. Yes, it looks cold! But once you get in the water you get an endorphin rush, and you want to do it again. There are so many physical and mental benefits. We know that 83% of our members do it because it makes them happy.’

Surely though, any health and therapeutic benefits are outweighed by the possibility of falling ill or getting injured in cold, hazardous, potentially polluted waters? ‘Well I’ve swum outdoors for years and never got sick. The water’s cleaner than it has been for years in the UK,’ counters Kate. ‘As for safety, we encourage people to take responsibility for themselves – they have to be aware that the conditions can be dangerous, and I believe our members prepare properly. You know your limits, you wear a wetsuit if necessary. You realise you’ll get weak if you get too cold and you learn about tides. And all that makes it more enjoyable, because every adventure ends with you getting out of the water well and safe.’

Fundraising flow

For many RNLI supporters, outdoor swimming can be a rewarding fundraising challenge, as well as a relaxing outdoor pursuit. As this magazine was being mailed, hundreds of fundraisers were recovering from festive swims and New Year’s Day dips in aid of the charity. And back in the warmer months of 2010, supporters were sponsored to swim planned distances across rivers, lakes, and even the English Channel. Around 230 people swam across Cornwall’s River Fal in June in aid of the RNLI raising more than £10,000, and many signed up to a series of ‘Great Swims’, including the Great North Swim on Lake Windermere, Cumbria. Sadly, that event was cancelled after toxic algae appeared on the lake in September 2010. But RNLI supporters were still determined to complete their mission somewhere.

‘For an initial moment, the news [of the cancellation] let me off the hook,’ recalls Windermere resident Gavin Preston. ‘But it was a sobering thought that the lifeboat crews do not let themselves off the hook from providing such a selfless lifesaving function, so in the same spirit we committed to follow through.’ Gavin decided to swim a mile at Rydal Water – a small lake just north of Windermere that he’d used for training – with fellow RNLI supporter Jon Hilsden from North Tyneside. Together they raised £1,250.

Another RNLI supporter determined to overcome adversity when swimming in aid of the RNLI is Londoner Chantal Carr. Chantal lost her father, keen RNLI supporter Bob Woollett, in 2007. She started an RNLI Forever by the Sea fund to remember him. Chantal decided to take part in a variety of fundraising challenges including several running events and a sponsored solo swim across the English Channel.

How did she train for such a mammoth task – a 21-mile swim through the cold sea with unpredictable weather, complicated tides and the constant need for energy replacement? ‘I had never swum in cold open water and was completely shocked at the effect,’ says the 35-year-old, who began her training in May 2009 in Dover Harbour. ‘I managed 10 minutes on my first attempt and I was going to give up. But I didn’t.’ Over the following 16 months,Chantal increased her Dover Harbour  training to 6–7 hour swims, consuming an energy drink every hour.

Chantal set out across the Channel at 5.30am on 18 September 2010. ‘I never thought about being cold or tired and tried to stay focused,’ she recalls. She swam for 9 hours – but was running on empty. ‘I just couldn’t hold down any of the liquid feeds. I was slowly starting to shut down, and unable to remember simple things like my pilot’s name. He asked me to leave the water for safety reasons,’ says Chantal, who aims to tackle the swim again in July 2011. ‘I felt like I had failed for days after but the continuing support made me see that what I had attempted was fantastic in itself.’

Cold-water swimmer Anna Wardley, who has completed the London Marathon in aid of the RNLI, knows what it’s like to take a second shot at swimming the Go wild, stay safe Channel. In August 2007, she abandoned her first attempt and was pulled out of the sea 2 miles off the French coast, shocked and exhausted after 15 hours of swimming. ‘It was the hardest decision of my life to try again,’ says Anna. She made a second attempt in September 2009. After 21 hours and 20 minutes, she reached France. ‘It’s hard to convey the utter exhaustion, relief, pride and elation,’ says Anna, who has also competed in the World Ice Swimming championships in Finland, the Hellespont Race swim from Europe to Asia, the Gibraltar Straits Swim from Spain to Morocco and the Double Windermere Swim.

Those highly organised competitions and feats of human endurance are in stark contrast to the relaxing dips and tranquil voyages of discovery championed by the Outdoor Swimming Society. Does that mean that wild swimmers are a different breed to those who seek to conquer channels and win competitions? ‘Not necessarily,’ says Anna. ‘I get huge enjoyment out of the training swims I do, such as swimming across the Solent to the Isle of Wight at sunrise on a crisp September morning. It’s still fun, it’s still relaxing, and it’s still an adventure.’

Wherever their strokes take them, outdoor swimmers seem united in their love of simply being outside when they take to the water, and learn to cope with – or even enjoy – the chilly consequences. Perhaps, if you only usually swim at indoor pools or sun-soaked beaches, this is the year that you’ll join them?