After numerous years swimming through the Winter Season, completing challenges with various companies, staying acclimatised and inspiring many people to take a chilly dip or swim alongside us through the winter, we decided last year to launch our own set of challenges over winter. This year we’re back again with – Lake District through Winter
Each challenge will start on November 1st and finish on March 31st, giving you five full months through winter to accumulate the distances required for your selected challenge. There are 5 challenges which you can participate in, all five at varying distances and based on some famous lake district lakes:
- Windermere: 18 km
- Ullswater: 12 km
- Coniston: 8.5 km
- Thirlmere: 6 km
- Buttermere: 2 km
Completing this virtual challenge is simple, swim the length of your chosen lake in a space of five months in an outdoor setting and you can get a badge or your own thermal flask (depending on what you select below). You can enter the challenge at any point from November 1st. You do not have to start on November 1st but the challenge will finish on March 31st and registration expires on March 1st.
You can swim as much or as little you want each swim, the water temperature is not important in this challenge. You may also want to swim more some weeks than others, especially as it gets colder. The challenge is about swimming the distance through winter. You can swim 50m in 10 degrees or swim 200m in 5 degrees, if you are capable you could swim 1000m in 10 degrees. Don’t forget – this is an open water swim challenge and water temperatures drop rapidly in winter, although we have a recommended average distance per week know your limitations, respect the cold water and stay safe. Please follow the guidance on our page.
All you need to do to complete the challenge is make sure that each swim is recorded on an app – Garmin, Apple Fitness, Strava etc and upload a screen shot of the activity to your own personalised page on Adventurous Swimmer. You will be able to track your progress throughout the challenge so you know how far left to go.
The Challenges
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Swim Winter-mere |
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| Lake: | Windermere |
| Total Distance: | 18 km (11 miles) |
| Recommended Swimmer ability: | Expert – This distance is recommended for strong swimmers who are acclimatised to water temperatures sub 10 degrees |
| Average weekly swim distance: | 1,059 m |
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Swim Ulls-winter |
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| Lake: | Ullswater |
| Total Distance: | 12 km (7.5 miles) |
| Recommended Swimmer ability: | Expert – This distance is recommended for good swimmers who are acclimatised to temperatures sub 10 degrees |
| Average weekly swim distance: | 706 m |
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Swim Cold-iston |
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| Lake: | Coniston |
| Total Distance: | 8.5 km (5.25 miles) |
| Recommended Swimmer ability: | Intermediate – This distance is recommended for swimmers who are normally acclimatised to water temperatures of 10-15 degrees |
| Average weekly swim distance: | 500 m |
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Swim Chill-mere |
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| Lake: | Thirlmere Reservoir |
| Total Distance: | 6 km (3.74 miles) |
| Recommended Swimmer ability: | Novice – This distance is recommended for swimmers who have swam their first summer and autumn and wish to continue through winter |
| Average weekly swim distance: | 353 m |
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Swim Bitter-mere |
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| Lake: | Buttermere |
| Total Distance: | 2 km (1.25 miles) |
| Recommended Swimmer ability: | Beginner – This distance is recommended for swimmers who prefer to have a quick dip during winter or have just started their open water swim journey |
| Average swim distance required per week: | 118 m |
Entry Options |
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| Each virtual challenge entry gets you access to your own exclusive page on Adventurous Swimmer where you can upload your swims and see your progress based on the challenge distance as well as your own personal records.
A flat rate of £3.00 is added to each entry fee to cover postage and packaging |
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Basic Entry – £13.00 As well as access to your own exclusive page and content you will receive a badge depending on which challenge you have entered. These sew on patches are great for sewing onto your Dryrobe®, towel, bag or any other kit that you want |
    
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VIP Entry – £34.50 As well as access to your own exclusive page and content and challenge badge you will also receive your own Adventurous Swimmer long sleeve cotton tee branded with your chosen challenge. Perfect to add to your post swim layers. You will be asked for your size and your choice of three colours |
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Enter Challenge |
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Swim Winter-mere (Distance 18km / 11 miles) |
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| Basic | |
| VIP | |
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Swim Ulls-winter (Distance 12km / 7.5 miles) |
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| Basic | |
| VIP | |
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Swim Cold-iston (Distance 8.5km / 5.25 miles) |
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| Basic | |
| VIP | |
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Swim Chill-mere (Distance 6km / 3.74 miles) |
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| Basic | |
| VIP | |
| Swim Bitter-mere (Distance 2km / 1.25 miles) | |
| Basic | |
| VIP | |
| Refunds
Please note, no refunds are available for our virtual challenges. If after entry you subsequently decide not to take part, we will not be able to refund your entry costs. |
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