How do you like your swimming? Do you aim to beat your best mate’s PB as you front crawl up and down the lanes of your local leisure pool? Do you head to remote waterways to find aquatic adventures? Do you test your endurance swimming marathons or even the Channel? Or do you just like to bob along in the ocean, feeling the silky water on your body and gazing at the sky?
Here in the UK spring is slowly starting to arrive, and the summer sea swimmers are preparing to plunge into waters that will feel icy to them, but balmy to bathers already acclimatised to the cold. If your ambition is to be one of them, read all about how to get there on page 48. If you’d rather not brave it, check out our guide to the best wetsuit for you on page 16.
The only thing is, when you do head for the sea, what will you find there? According to Surfers Against Sewage, water companies are routinely polluting our swimming areas for profit. Read all about it on page 38, and don’t forget to download the Safer Seas & Rivers Service app to check it’s safe to dip your toes.
On top of that we’ve got historic swimming spots, top tips to boost your technique, nutrition advice, intriguing international pool rules, tried and tested ways of changing in public – and much more.