YOUR FAVOURITES
TOP SPOTS
Our readers recommend their favourite places to swim. Kate Rew, author of Wild Swim, picks the best…
DOVER HARBOUR, KENT
Channel swimmers come from all over, but a surprising number try and do at least some of their training at Dover
Harbour itself, swimming between Ferry Pier and West Pier (1.4km) again and again until they are borderline hypothermic – then driving home with their car heaters on high. The harbour is like a giant, grey, industrial swimming pool, hemmed in on the right by the harbour wall and ferry port, and with giant cranes to the leſt . At weekends, Freda Streeter, the unoffi cial Channel swimming coach, sits on the beach watching over the hopefuls: “She’ll stay there waiting for her swimmers even if they’re doing it for 10 hours, with her assistant Barry, oſt en in his yellow, wet-weather gear, alternately mixing Maxim and smearing Vaseline on people’s armpits and necks so they don’t rub when they swim,” says 2002 Channel veteran Mark Sawyer. The season opens in May, with water temperatures around 11-12˚C, although most do their crossings in August, when water temperatures are a more comfortable 16-17˚C. Even so, Channel swimmers will be working as hard on staying warm as they are on going the distance. OS ref: TR 325 413
THE HARBOUR IS LIKE A GIANT INDUSTRIAL SWIMMING POOL HEMMED IN BY THE HARBOUR WALL
THE BEST… CHANNEL TRAINING LOCATIONS Swimming the Channel has undergone a massive boom in popularity over the last few years. But, if you want to swim the 34km across from Dover to France, where do you train? The ultimate camp is Dover itself, but there are other popular spots around the country.
SEND YOURS IN AND WIN! Do you have a favourite place you’d like to recommend? Upload it to the interactive swim map at
wildswim.com or send it in to
kate@h2openmagazine.com. If yours is selected, you’ll win a signed copy of Wild Swim (Guardian Books, £12.99).
TOOTING BEC LIDO, LONDON There are two popular Channel training locations in London. Channel legend Kevin Murphy is lucky enough to have membership of the Serpentine Swimming Club in the centre of Hyde Park. Others can instead rack up the hours at this 90m lido in South London instead. Though it may not have views of Buckingham Palace, it is home to the South London Swimming Club, and is the largest freshwater pool in the UK. Just 393 lengths and you've crossed the Channel! OS ref: TQ 290 719
LOCH LOMOND, STIRLINGSHIRE At 22 miles, Loch Lomond is as long a swim as the Channel, so off ers a challenging swim in itself. The largest loch in the UK, it has been swum by fewer people than have bested the Channel. Balloch Public slipway is a regular departure point for triathletes, with Wednesday night swim sessions from May to September and showers available for 50p. However, it’s not all about distance. "There is something magical about the waters of Loch Lomond,"says Fiona Ramsey. OS ref: NS 385 825
BALA LAKE (LLYN TEGID), GWYNEDD “Llyn Tegid is the largest natural body of water in Wales and is set in a mountain valley. It is owned by National Parks and swimming is allowed at any time, so it is used freely by triathletes for training during the summer season,” says Andrew Peake. A bleak place at the best of times, Channel swimmers can expect wind, waves and cold – all good experience for the challenge in front of them. Wrecsam Tri are among those that use it. OS ref: SH 925 354
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