Read Outdoor Swimmer's "Escape the Pool" advice booklet

A note from Outdoor Swimmer's Founder and Publisher, Simon Griffiths:

I can’t remember a time I didn’t swim outdoors. I didn’t even realise outdoor swimming or open water was a ‘thing’. My mum used to bundle me, my siblings, various friends, and sometimes a couple of dogs, into the back of her Ford Granada estate (no child safety seats back then) and drive us off to the beach or an old water-filled quarry, and we’d spend the day roaming and swimming free. Later, as a student, I remember hitch-hiking across Europe and swimming in lakes and rivers along the way. I then spent three years in Africa, where I frequently swam in the sea.

While I’ve done plenty of other sport, swimming has always been my favourite activity for training and fitness to relaxation and the sheer joy of being in the water – and that experience is always more intense outside. My dream is to share that passion for swimming and especially outdoor swimming, and provide the resources and inspiration for other people to experience it too.

What I’ve come to realise is that my early swimming experiences were an enormous privilege that not everyone shares. For many people, swimming outside is incredibly daunting. It induces panic and fear rather than exhilaration and joy. Or you just don’t know where to start.

Well, one place you could start is your local swimming pool. Outdoor swimming is different to pool swimming but there’s no reason why you can’t practise some of what you need to know indoors to build up your confidence to swim outside.

We’ve therefore produced this short guide to help you start on your own outdoor swimming journey which, if it’s anything like mine, will take you to places and give you experiences that you never imagined.

Let’s take those first steps.

Happy swimming
Simon Griffiths

For more tips on getting into open water swimming you might like...

Thinking about your first open water swim

New to open water swimming? Jeremy's well thought out advice can help make that first swim safe, enjoyable and successful.

10 tips to get the best winter swimming experience

Despite the dangers, cold water swimming can be really fun and enjoyed safely provided you know the risks and prepare and act accordingly.

Our River Arun swim is the perfect challenge for someone who has recently started open water swimming.

Swimming blog

How we help