Ten reasons to give someone the gift of wild swimming

It’s the perfect physical challenge for every ability

Anyone can go wild swimming. You don’t need to be fit, or slim, or even particularly sporty in any way. You just need to be able to get yourself in and out of the water safely. You don’t even need to be able to actually swim to get the benefits of being in cold water. Paddling, dunking and just lying down in the water all work.

It’s good exercise

Swimming, no matter how far, or how fast is really good for you. Recent scientific studies have shown that swimming (or any activity in the water) improves the elasticity of your blood vessels. helps your heart health, alleviates joint pain, and can even boost your brain. They think it may have something to do with being in the pronate position and how this impacts the flow of blood to your brain, unlike most other exercise where you are upright and all the blood is in your legs. Even a gentle breaststroke is a great workout for your whole body and helps to keep you supple and fit. And if you experience pain doing other sport, the cold water can have a numbing effect that alleviates discomfort.

It makes you glow

The effect of cold water on your body improves the circulation to and from your extremities to protect your core which works wonders for your skin and gives you the classic post-swim rosy cheeked glow. Perhaps paradoxically, it really helps with anyone who has circulation issues such as Reynaud’s as it actually improves your body’s ability to move the blood around to where you need it most.

Eating cake afterwards is mandatory

Swimming in cold water places a big calorific load on your body to keep warm, which is why is it really important to have something sweet to eat and a warm drink when you get out to help your body warm up again. Cake is of course a very central part of any wild swimming experience, especially salted caramel chocolate brownies and lemon drizzle cake (but then I maybe biased)!

You get to spend time outside

You can’t go wild swimming inside. Fact. So every time you go wild swimming you will get a lovely big dose of fresh air plus some vitamin D depending on the time of year and the weather. Getting outside, particularly during the winter months, is incredibly important for our mental health and to help tackle conditions such as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Ask the Scandinavians… they are big proponents of getting outside in all weathers, and of the benefits of hot and cold therapy!

You get to see wildlife from a completely different perspective

Unlike swimming indoors, when you swim outside you have a whole different multi-sensory experience which involves not only the physical movement of your body through the water, but also the sights, sounds, and smells of the trees, the birds, and the different wildlife species that live in and next to the water. You may be lucky enough to see the bright blue darting form of a kingfisher, or swim with baby otters. Plus you get to feel more in tune with the different seasons and how this changes your experience of the water.

You become part of a wonderful community

Wild swimming is a great way to meet lots of like-minded souls who probably share the same sense of trepidation about getting into cold water but who also are seeking a sense of escape and release from the pressure of their everyday lives. The ‘natural high’ that comes from being in the water helps to break down any inhibitions and the most amazing conversations can ensue as you glide through the water.

It gives you head space

Being in the water helps you to be truly present in the moment. You are concentrating on how cold your body feels, the sensation of the water on your skin, and the movement of the ripples around you. It really does switch off the incessant to do lists running through your mind and brings a sense of inner calm without even really having to try.

It’s a great way to relieve stress

When you enter cold water your body releases lots of natural chemicals: endorphin, serotonin and dopamine, all the ‘happy chemicals’ that help to alleviate stress and leave you feeling much more able to deal with everything. After a wild swim, your dopamine levels are raised by up to 250% for about 24 hours, which is way more than your average glass of wine. But the best thing about wild swimming is that there’s no hangover or comedown (although you might find yourself compulsively searching for the nearest lake to jump in so you can get your next natural high!). There is also evidence to suggest that training your body to have a managed stress response as you enter cold water helps you to get less stressed in other non-water based situations because you body says, “hang on a minute, I feel stressed but I know how to handle this now, don’t sweat it.”

It’s 100% time for you

Wild swimming could be the new hobby that legitimates time away from the everyday pressures of work and family and general life. It is the perfect, and very valid, excuse to block time out for yourself and to honour that commitment to do something that is completely and utterly for the love of it, with no need to be productive or achieve anything at the end of it.

If you or someone you know would love to have a go at wild swimming and perhaps lacks the confidence to go on their own, then why not give them a gift voucher for one of our wild swim experiences at The Forge. You can either buy them a place on one of our retreats and let them choose the date which suits them best. Or you can choose how much you want to spend and make up a gift voucher for that amount that they can use as part payment for any of retreats or courses at The Forge or with our partners at the Wild Bushcraft Company.

Find out more information about all our gift vouchers here.

For more information about wild swimming in the UK click here.