Wild swimming is becoming increasingly popular as the weather heats up this summer. And you can can avoid the crowds at the seaside by combining a dip with an overnight stay at one of the UK’s most tranquil spots.
From glamping at a private lake to a cottage stay by a cooling river, here are 10 of the best picks.
Read our hotel reviews for perfect stays across the UK.
Cannonball straight into the cool waters of the eight-acre lake that sits at the heart of Wild With Nature, an organic farm with six shepherd’s huts to hole up in. Our favourite is the Pheasant Hut, a snug bolthole for two with views of the lake and its tempting wooden pontoon. Need to warm up after a swim? Book the farm’s “roving hot tub” for £30 per night.
From £95 per night, sleeps two
If you’re picturing waking up, unzipping your tent and jumping straight into the ocean, set up camp on Troytown Farm, where a grassy camping meadow runs right down to the Atlantic. Life goes at a slow pace on the car-free island of St Agnes, one of the Isles of Scilly found off the Cornish coast – campers spend their days sea swimming or renting SUPs and kayaks from St Agnes Watersports next door. You can also swim across to the island of Gugh, joined to St Agnes by a sand bar at low tide.
£10.25 per person per night, children £5.75
Named for Mogul the ginger tabby, the first animal resident of this lovely glamping site, One Cat Farm in north Wales is home to four cosy wooden cabins, dotted around a lily pad-strewn swimming pond. There’s little to do here besides take a dip, pootle about in the rowing boat or warm up after a swim in a wood-fired outdoor bath. If you’re craving salt water, Aberaeron South beach is a five-minute drive away.
From £154 per two-night stay for a cabin sleeping two
Everything is perfectly squared away inside this small but perfectly formed shepherd’s hut. Moroccan-themed Myrtle is hidden in a little Welsh glade with views of the River Wye, and a path straight down to the water leads to your own private swim spot complete with a rope to help you clamber in and out. There’s a hot shower on hand post-swim, and a barbecue means you can feast on a riverside supper once you’ve worked up an appetite.
From £97 per night, sleeps two
A lush meadow, fringed by woodland and the burbling waters of the River Stour – this is old-fashioned camping at its best. Farr’s Meadow is a tent-only site with proper showers and compost loos in converted horse boxes, but otherwise this campsite is simplicity itself. Head to the river for a lazy morning swim – the campsite can also arrange fishing if you fancy catching your own supper to cook over a firepit come evening.
From £25 per night for a pitch sleeping two
This charming cabin is a wild swimmer’s dream. Ditchling perches on the edge of its own lake, with a wide wooden platform floating over the water, no less than three pontoons and a diving platform to jump in from, plus a motley selection of rowing boats and rafts for you to punt around on to your heart’s content. The living room hides two little box beds suitable for children, and upstairs there’s a huge double bed and a bath with lake views for the grown-ups.
