For some bizarre reason, British people love to wake up the day after Christmas, ignore the freezing temperatures and run head first into the sea. Boxing Day swims are a tradition around the country. One that’s growing in popularity year on year.
Named as one of Britain’s top ten barmiest winter dips, the Boxing Day Dip in Tenby is famous around the world. Organised by the Tenby Sea Swimming Association, it’s been running since the seventies and, so far, raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity.
In 2016, a record breaking 700 people took part, many of them wearing fancy dress costumes. This year’s theme is ‘Space Travel’ and swimmers can look forward to the reward of a warming beach bonfire and mug of hot soup.
After consuming a month’s worth of calories in a single day and then vegging out in front of the TV to watch the Strictly Christmas Special followed by Call the Midwife, is it no surprise we want some fresh air and exercise on Boxing Day?
Chris Osborne, Chair of Tenby Sea Swimming Association whose family started the event 48 years ago, says, “The concept of running into the sea on Boxing Day has always seemed close to lunacy. To make it a fundraiser for worthy causes makes the dramatic chasing away of Christmas Day cobwebs a singularly masochistic, but also altruistic activity. And when you learn that 650+ swimmers participate, the lemmings idea springs to mind.
“Organised chaos is how I describe this event; it has never been cancelled, consistently hits TV, radio, and all other types of media (well, it would, wouldn’t it) and now probably would happen in a simplistic way, even if we didn’t organise it!”
Another large scale event in the UK, and potentially the coldest, is Sunderland’s festive swim in the North Sea. Organisers say, “The ‘Boxing Day Dip’ takes place on our wonderful coastline and has become a part of Sunderland’s history. Organised by Sunderland Lions Club it is an occasion for the people of the North East to dress up in all manner of fancy dress, take a dip in the North Sea, raise money for your charity and blow the Christmas cobwebs away. If you want to spectate just turn up.”
The Met Office says to take care and perhaps use the fancy dress element to your advantage in the cold: “If there’s a Boxing Day Swim event taking place in your area, make sure you check your local weather forecast before choosing your fancy dress.”
But not everyone wants their swim to be a big group event. Open water ultra-swimmer, Beth French is looking forward to a festive dip with her son watching on from the shoreline:
“For my closest friends and I, one of the purest joys is a simple and quiet gathering. Two or three of us, a shared sigh as we slip into the icy water, smiles and string bikinis all that we wear. The explicit surrender of the warm body into frigid waters is limitless and exquisite. And then with much laughter, a shared hot chocolate and mixed smorgasbord of calorific treats in the back of my van to warm up! It really doesn’t get much better than that!”
If you’re still glued to the sofa on Boxing Day, there’s always a New Year’s Day swim! Wild Swim and The Outdoor Swimming Society have put together this crowd sourced map for locations around the country.