Swimming Snowdonia | Wild Swimming At Its Best

There has been a lot of coverage about wild swimming in the Snowdonia mountains of late, and the film Blue Hue produced by Natasha Brooks has certainly helped. The film was winner of the Women in Mountain Adventure film competition 2015, the Spirit Of Adventure film award 2015 and gained international recognition when selected for the Banff Mountain Film Festival tour 2016.

We are very lucky here with so many beautiful swimming spots to choose from. Accomplishing a wild swim is invigorating, satisfying as well as peaceful and calming; I have never met a person yet who wishes they hadn’t done one!

If entering into the realms of wild swimming peaks your interest, here are 5 top spots that will certainly give you a taster of wild swimming at its best:

WATKINS PATH WATERFALL

An extended series of pools and falls starting close to the Snowdon Watkins path. It’s used a lot by walkers coming down off Snowdon, but it’s not too far from the carpark if you just want a gentle walk and swim. It was listed as no 2 in the Telegraph’s top UK wild swimming spots.

LLYN CAU | CADAIR IDRIS

A huge, dramatic glacial cwm in the crater of Cadair Idris set beneath 400m high mountain walls. There is a 350m ascent up from the car park, past numerous falls and pools to get to the lake so if you are worried about the cold, don’t be, you’ll want cool down after all that walking getting there!

BLUE LAGOON | GOLFERN QUARRY | FAIRBORNE

Hidden through a tunnel, the colour of the water in this quarry is something else; turquoise blue. There are rocks to jump off if you are feeling brave and it’s a great sun trap (when it’s out) to dry off in. It is very cold throughout year, so be prepared for that when you jump in.

RHAEDR DU | MAENTWROG

A walk through a field and down into the woods takes you to this magical waterfall – it feels like you could be on a tropical island. There is a stone beach and a lovely pool to swim in aswell as sitting under the waterfall itself. The sound of the water coming down on you is incredible and the best tonic if you’re in need of a pick me up.

LLYN GWYNANT | BEDDGELERT

Probably the easiest to access, this lake is right on the roadside so you can park up and jump in. This is quite possibly one of the most beautiful swimming spots in the world. Floating on your back and being surrounded by the snowdonia mountains is incredible. There is also the option of swimming out to Elephant Rock if you’re in the mood for some rock jumping.