Open Water Swimming- anyone taken this up?

My daughter enjoys swimming in London - the Thames in Dockland, the Serpentine, and the Ladies’ Pond on Hampstead Heath.

No, not since they found a shark in Wales

my dd does it in a very deep lake. There are often other swimmers there and divers, it is so deep. She has a watcher with her and wears a wet suit. She is an ironman triathlete but that does not stop me being worried about the swimming and the ultra marathons that she does

Yes probably drunk Fennel. We have a pub directly opposite on the other side of the river from us, it's a long walk up to the bridge and down the other side to get to it...........or you can swim it if you're slightly bonkers like some of our neighbours do on particularly hot days

That's reassuring TerriBul - I think that's the part where they swim.
We live near the Tyne and have seen young intrepid Geordies swimming there on some of the hot days we've had lately. Just a couple of miles upriver from Newcastle.
Personally I think they must be mad. Or drunk .

We were sitting on a Devon beach today, very hazy, hot sun, felt very tempted, but didn't have my swimming costume. There were a lot of people in the water though, I don't blame them.

I've seen people swim in Thames near where we live, it's not actually that clean, I wouldn't do it. David Walliams, became quite ill on one of his sponsored swims just after he passed our bit, not surprised. Up river closer to the source, I think it's cleaner and I imagine it could be quite exhilarating if you happen to be a strong swimmer.

I would love to do this, because of the health benefits, but I rarely like any outdoor water, because it feels dirty to me, or at least the places round me are. Luckily, our swimming pools are just opening now?

Thanks allium for the info- you have inspired me to see if I can join a group and look for a wetsuit. I know you need to acclimatise to cold water , we are lucky that we do have a couple of lidos nearby, although I’m not a fan of too much chlorine and the swimming lake is intending to open.

Eldest daughter has joined a swimming club and they swim in the Thames, near Henley. She loves it.
I'm a bit concerned for her because of the pollution but she says 'Oh Mum don't worry it's fine there!' As long as she doesn't swallow any of the water.
She's a good swimmer - took her to the pool as a baby and she could swim, under water, before she could walk.

The seas good for me and on my doorstep that’s as wild as I want to get
There can be so much under the water in wild water from insects, animals, fish, metal, weed, weils disease
Each to his own but no it doesn’t appeal to me I’d be too scared of what’s unseen underneath I don’t go out far enough to encounter fish or anything at all really in the sea apart from very rarely a jelly fish and there’s always lifeguards around

I ve done the Christmas Day swim a good few times oopsadaisey It’s not as cold as you expect

Loads of older people do this throughout the year. There are lots of groups on Facebook dedicated to this all round the country. There is a monthly magazine called Outdoor Swimmer, www.outdoorswimmer.com., www.thelidoguide.com - dedicated to lidos and outdoor pools, there are a few lidos that stay open all year and are heated if you are lucky enough to live near one. The Outdoor Swimming Society have a website with lots of information on it, www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com. You may well find a wetsuit in a sale at this time of year, worth looking around and doing a bit of research. I'm 71 and swim all the year round inside and outside with and without a wetsuit.

My DD1 does it, but they do it in pairs, just in case, as the beaches /quarries where she lives can be very dangerous, she calls them ‘challenging’.
She always does the local beach swim on Boxing Day.
Rather her than me.

An acquaintance started this before lockdown and loves it. She joined a club and swims at the local lake. She also did a sponsored swim the equivalent of the channel. She couldn't even swim when she took it on!

My future DIL does it and loves it.
She swims in the lochs ❄️???️ and local reservoirs.
The reservoirs are mapped out by swimmers to point out danger areas to warn others.

Go for it, its not my cup of tea. I hate being cold!