Wales was made for wild swimming. Anyone thinking of going for a dip should ensure it is safe to swim there, as there may be hidden risks lurking under the water’s surface. You should always swim with others, especially if it’s your first swim. You should keep close to the shore. Cold water can decrease your range, so if you’re not going to be able to go as far as in a warm pool. Wild swimming is safe, but only if you follow guidelines, know your own ability and follow proper safety measures. Swimming, in general, is a fun activity which can be enjoyed by everyone, but outdoor swimming does have its dangers. The famous swimming ladies of London’s Hampstead ponds share their favourite walks with a dip. Leave the car at home this summer with 28 days out across southern and eastern England. Abereiddy (SA62 6DT) is signed from the A487. Park at beach and follow coast path 300m north to lagoon. Do not jump from top tower at low tide. Bottom platform safe at all tides. 51.9379, -5.2087. There is also a freshwater quarry at Rosebush, SA66 7QX, 51.9359, -4.7959. The Guide is multi-faceted. It is a guide, but it is also a prose-poem about light, shapes and textures, about movement and stillness … What holds this diversity together is the voice of complete authority, compounded from experience, intense observation, thought and love.”

This walk starts (and finishes) in the historic port of Charlestown, and takes in glorious countryside as well as three beaches. If you’re a confident swimmer, you can swim the final part of the walk, either carrying your stuff in a drybag-towfloat, or getting your friends to carry your things on shore. I often go hiking in Ystradfellte. The area is known as Waterfall Country due to the unusually large number of publicly accessible falls here. Many of the waterfalls in South Wales have plunge pools. Other walkers have also made rope swings in several locations. The four waterfalls are called Sgwd Clun-Gwyn, Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn, Sgwd y Pannwr and Sgwd yr Eira – which is the one you can walk behind. Beginning with the lovely walk through the woods of Manesty Park towards Great Bay, take the time to explore the many bays here including Myrtle, Abbot’s, and Brandelhow Bay. Geology often plays a significant part in creating some of Lakeland’s prime swim spots where the power of glaciation now offers memorable experiences.Okay, so this last spot might not exactly be a ‘wild’ swimming spot, but this outdoor pool is not to be missed! Heated to a beautiful 28 degrees and open all year round it offers a great swim with a view of the Peak District! Plus, they also hold late night openings so you can enjoy a swim and the sunset at the same time! Complete with photos and practical guidance, rich in local history and legend, this book will appeal to wild swimmers, family explorers, nature lovers and walkers alike. There is nowhere on this good green Earth quite like the English Lake District. Forged by the Ice Age, conquered by the Romans and named by the Vikings it has a unique heritage and sense of place, evident in the fierce sense of belonging to all who call this place home. Of course, the Lakes has a long association with mountaineering and fell walking, but also with outdoor swimming. Since the time of William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850) and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 – 1834), visitors to the region have enjoyed taking to the waters as part of a vigorous and stimulating outdoor life. Buttermere is home to Arctic char, but the precise location is a closely guarded secret. The ancient woodlands of Langstrath is the place for pied flycatchers and roe deer with red deer above the treeline and, soaring overhead, buzzards and peregrine falcons.

This eight-mile walk crosses heathland dotted with pretty villages before dropping down to follow the Wey Navigation, where there are many swimming places. The route, from Chilworth station, starts by crossing a strange area of wild and rather forbidding scrub and gorse, but soon gives way to gentle pastures, small woods and cosy commuter villages. Once the route joins the Wey Navigation, it follows the towpath right into Guildford and almost to the station. Swimming is quite well established as a local pastime and two spots in particular are popular. The first occurs very soon after reaching the Wey, just beyond the Manor Inn, and is a tiny patch of sandy beach where someone has placed poles, presumably to warn non-swimmers not to go on into deep water. The next main swimming place is close to Guildford and has a more extensive sandy beach and also a steep sandy bank. Rowing boats and canoes can be hired from Farncombe Boat House, Catteshall. How to get there: Walk to Blue Pool Bay at low tide from Broughton Bay or follow my five mile Komoot walk along the coast path to reach the bay. Daniel Start, author of the new Wild Guide to Wales, shares his all-time favourite wild swims of Wales.. Cover open wounds – if you must swim whilst you have an injury ensure its covered to avoid infection miles north of Tregaron leave B4343 at Ffair-Rhos, turning by Teifi Inn for SY25 6BW. Continue 3¾ miles, climbing high into the hills. 52.2912, -3.7738It is all part of the wellbeing offered by a day out on the fells, in woods or in the water, the blue-green therapy that is appreciated now more than ever. A swim at High Dam has it all. “This is a place we can call home for a while and the intimacy of the heather, dangling larch and old pine add to that feeling. Many a happy hour can be spent here, lazily swimming about the lily pads, gazing between the trees to the distant hazy fells,” he writes. Although this is Pete’s first book, he has featured in a number of television programmes about wild swimming including the BBC's Countryfile and Secret Britain and writes a regular column for Outdoor Swimmer Magazine. He adds: “I genuinely enjoy writing, I like the aesthetics of it. I think we’ve got a great language and I love that it’s influenced by the Vikings and we still use Old Norse words so it’s easy to be driven to write about that.” The steep walk up through the pine trees is enhanced by the views of Helvellyn to the east and by the attractive falls and cascades of Dob Gill. Emerging from the dense woodland into the open space surrounding Harrop Tarn is always a pleasant surprise.