The festive season brings with it many traditions, turkey and stuffing, holly and ivy, Santa and Rudolph and of course, best of all, stripping down to your trunks and jumping into a freezing cold sea for charity.
If you fancy burning off that festive over-indulgence, or want to start your day with a shiver, but incredible fun, then these are for you.
WALRUS BOXING DAY DIP AT PEMBREY COUNTRY PARK
Brave the chill and join in with the 38th annual Walrus Dip at Pembrey Country Park!
Join hundreds of others and take a dip in the sea on Boxing Day to raise money for a cause close to your heart, but if you’re not brave enough come along anyway to witness this crazy and spectacular event!
The Walrus Dip was established in 1984, and has run every year since, except on two occasions – one due to an oil spill another when the sea froze over! People of all ages take part for a variety of charities, with most donning fancy dress and colourful Christmas costumes.
Participants and spectators should arrive at the park by 10.30am latest and be at the starting line by 10.45am (due to tidal conditions there is likely to be a 10-minute walk to the start line from the main entrance to Cefn Sidan Beach). – the amount of time you spend in the sea is entirely up to you!
The event is supported by the RNLI, Coastguard & St John’s Ambulance who will both be on duty throughout the event.
Participation is free – more details HERE.
* The event will only be cancelled in case of extreme weather conditions that would threaten the safety of participants and spectators, or in event of an emergency. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages for information on the day.
PONTYPRIDD LIDO BOXING DAY DIP
This event is always really popular, in fact Boxing Day Swims are sold out! New Year’s Day swim tickets go on sale 9am, Monday, December 8th.
Both events are open to swimmers of all ages and wet suits can be worn if you wish. There are indoor heated changing rooms and showers for those who do not wish to brave the original al-fresco ones.
Tickets for Winter cold water swims are on sale now (age 16+) Full details – HERE.
PORTHCAWL CHRISTMAS MORNING SWIM
They are back this year and (they say) it’s time to paint the town red – we say, make our bodies blue with the cold.
The organisers are celebrating 60 years of festive swims. They ask you all to join them and Paint the Town Red to celebrate whilst raising money for local charities and organisations 2 Wish and Sir Gareth Edwards Cancer Charity.
The swim has raised over £175,000 for various local charities and organisations since it began in 1965.
The Porthcawl Christmas Morning swim, is (unsurprisingly) on Christmas Morning. Take a look at their FACEBOOK page, or you can email them christmasswim@gmail.com
BARRY ISLAND NEW YEAR’S DAY SWIM
Like many great ideas, this one began in a pub. Back in 1984, five members of the Jackson’s Bay Lifeguard Club vowed to go for a dip the morning after their New Year’s Eve celebrations. What’s more, they set a rule that they had to totally submerge themselves three times. This remains the gold standard, but many of today’s swimmers choose to run into the sea, have a very short splash and get the heck out of there screaming and yelling. That would be us too.
The annual Barry Island New Years Day dip has become one of the Vale’s fastest growing and most popular events with people travelling from all over to participate. They hope they can continue to grow this wonderful event, whilst raising invaluable funds to support and care for the children and their families.
The New Year’s Day dip gets usually get underway at 12.30pm on Whitmore Bay For more details, go here. BARRY
MAYORS NEW YEAR’S DAY DIP IN PEMBROKESHIRE
Newport Boat Club in Pembrokeshire is the place to be if you want to blow off the New Years Eve excesses. your host for this chilly dip into the estuary at Parrog (and yes, the mayor really does take part). Mercifully, it’s just a short dash back up the slipway for a mug of soup and a hot shower in the Boat Club.
The New Year’s Day Dip is obviously on the 1st January and gets underway at noon at Newport Boat Club in Parrog, Pembrokeshire. Not many details as yet but as soon as we get more, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, go HERE.
SAUNDERSFOOT NEW YEAR’S DAY SWIM
This charitable event just gets bigger and better and quite frankly more elaborate year on year. Thousands now take part in this event with as many, if not more supporting and enjoying the spectacle.
Saundersfoot will host the 40th New Year’s Day Charity Swim, the UK’s largest festive dip, celebrating decades of tradition and charity fundraising with a ruby theme.
On January 1, the organisers of the charity event will proudly host the 40th New Year’s Day Swim – a remarkable milestone for this iconic community event.
The 2026 swim will start at 12.30pm from Saundersfoot beach, and is sure once again to attract a wealth of entrants and support.
This year’s theme is Ruby, marking the40th swim! To join in the celebrations, they’re encouraging everyone to come in fancy dress or something in the colour red – help create a sea of ruby red to mark this incredible occasion!
What began back in 1984 with just 10 swimmers has grown into a spectacular coastal event. Now recognised by Pembrokeshire County Council as a major event, the Saundersfoot Swim is proudly the UK’s biggest festive dip.
In 2025, a record-breaking 2,535 swimmers braved the icy waters, cheered on by around 10,000 spectators. Over the years, the event has raised more than £800,000 for charities, thanks to the dedication and generosity of participants, sponsors, and volunteers.
Take a look at their website to find out more – SAUNDERSFOOT
TENBY BOXING DAY SWIM
Named as one of Britain’s top ten barmiest winter dips, Tenby’s famous Boxing Day Swim has been an institution in the small Pembrokeshire town for more than 50 years.
The Tenby Boxing Day Swim is organised by the Tenby Sea Swimming Association, and has snowballed over the years into one of Wales’ top festive highlights.
Over the years, it has raised more than £301,000 for local, national and international charities and good causes. The event took the plunge for the 50 th time in 2022, making a welcome return to the winter calendar after being side lined by the Covid pandemic.
Join in on December 26th on Tenby North Beach for the legendary Tenby Boxing Day Swim – this year celebrating “All Things Welsh” as they gear up to welcome the National Eisteddfod of Wales to Pembrokeshire in 2026!
It’s one of Wales’ favourite festive traditions – hundreds of brave swimmers, cheering crowds, and plenty of post-dip celebrations to warm you up. And this year, they’re adding an extra splash of Welsh pride to the waves!
To find out more about the brilliant, historic event, and to get yourself signed up, just go HERE.
