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 getting jumping into a freezing cold sea for charity.
This year there are some absolute belters, and the various charities which benefit from them, need your support more than ever.
WALRUS BOXING DAY DIP AT PEMBREY COUNTRY PARK
Brave the chill and join in with the 37th 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 sands). – the amount of time you spend in the sea is entirely up to you! The event is supported by the RNLI and Coastguard who will both be on duty throughout the event.
Participation is free and certificates will be handed out to all participants. Admission to Pembrey Country Park is free. For more details on the Walrus Dip. just go 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 SWIM
The ticket release for the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day swims has been POSTPONED. They will not be releasing tickets for these events on Monday (Dec 2) as previously announced. Repairs and cleaning continue following damage caused by Storm Bert. They will release a new date when we are able to.
For more details go HERE
PORTHCAWL CHRISTMAS MORNING SWIM
They are back this year and it’s time to paint the town red – we say, make our bodies blue with the cold.
The Porthcawl Christmas Morning Swim is a festive tradition that brings the community together to raise money for local charities and organisations.
Since 1965, the swim has been a highlight of the Christmas calendar, with hundreds of swimmers taking the plunge into the icy waters of Coney Beach. Whether you’re diving in or cheering from the shore, your participation makes a real difference. So why not join us this Christmas and make a splash for a good cause?
The swim has raised over £175,000 for various local charities and organisations since it began in 1965.
This year they are raising money for Alzheimer’s Society Cymru this year.
The Porthcawl Christmas Morning swim, is (unsurprisingly) on Christmas Morning. It’s a 10:30am gathering, entering the sea at 11:45am. For more information, head to their site HERE. Or you can email them [email protected]
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 – 11am to 12noon at high tide – followed by hot soup and hot showers at the Club. Start the New Year with a bracing swim!
It gets underway at noon at Newport Boat Club in Parrog. 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.
On January 1st 2025 they will celebrate the 39th Saundersfoot New Years Day charity swim. It started in 1984 with 10 swimmers and in 2023 had 2254 in the sea with a crowd of roughly 9000 watching. The swim has developed into an incredible spectacle and is classed by Pembrokeshire County Council as a major event. It is also the biggest festive dip in the UK and to date has raised over £750k for charities.
The crowds are entertained by the Cold Cup (a fancy-dress horse race over obstacles for local pub teams), fireworks and a mass dance warm-up. Last year’s fancy dress included a team of warriors who arrived on the beach inside a giant wooden Trojan Horse. As for the swim, the rules clearly state: ‘Your head must go under!
ENTRY TO THE SWIM IS £5 FOR ADULTS AND £3 FOR UNDER 16’S. FOR YOUR ENTRY FEE YOU WILL RECEIVE AN NYDS WRISTBAND WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR COLLECTION IN THE NEW NYDS HUT WHICH WILL BE ON THE STRAND FROM 28TH DECEMBER AND ON THE DAY OF THE SWIM AND AFTER THE SWIM YOU CAN COLLECT AN NYDS MEDAL.
PLEASE NOTE – 0NLY SWIMMERS WITH NYDS WRISTBANDS WILL RECEIVE A MEDAL
TO ENTER THE SWIM YOU CAN EITHER CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO BE TAKEN TO THE ENTRY SYSTEM OR YOU CAN ENTER IN PERSON AT OUR NEW NYDS HUT ON THE STRAND FROM 28TH DECEMBER. BEFORE YOU ENTER THE SWIM PLEASE READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO ACCEPT THEM TO ENTER
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 West Wales town for decades and has recently featured in the ITV Wales series The Harbour, which was filmed in Tenby and shows a year in the life of the seaside community.
The Tenby Boxing Day Swim is organised by the Tenby Sea Swimming Association, which also stages the summertime Caldey Swim from the monastic island to the Tenby mainland.
The two events have enabled TSSA to raise nearly £301,000 for local, national and international charities and good causes over the years.
The 2019 Tenby Boxing Day Swim saw a record-breaking entry of nearly 800 dippers who took the plunge in the sunshine and numbers remain strong and consistent for this year’s festivities.
Swimmers can collect for their own good causes or the charities nominated by TSSA.
The popularity of the swim continues to grow, and 2023 saw a record-breaking crowd of 1,050 crazy bathers sprint for the sea – many in fancy dress to celebrate 100 years of Disney.
The fancy dress theme for 2024 is Superheroes, in tribute to the brave lifeboatmen and women of the RNLI, which is celebrating its 200 th anniversary.
TSSA will be donating all the proceeds from the 2024 event to Tenby RNLI, To take part, register and make a donation HERE
The RNLI is the swim’s sole nominated charity this year, but entrants are also able to collect sponsorship for their own chosen charity and can download a sponsor form HERE
Over the years it has snowballed into one of Wales’ top festive attractions and is ranked in the top 10 of Britain’s barmiest seasonal swims.
The Tenby Boxing Day Swim takes place on the North Beach on Tuesday, December 26th, from 11am.
The stampede for the sea is signalled at 11.30am, and swimmers can look forward to the warmth of the beach bonfire and hot soup on their return to the beach.
Following the stampede for the sea, dippers can look forward to hot soup and commemorative medals – and that glow of pride from taking part!
So, if you would like to join this very special event, please register HERE and to collect sponsorship, please download your sponsorship form HERE.
LLANDUDNO LIONS CLUB BOXING DAY DIP
The Lions Club of Llandudno have for over 25 years, organized the annual Boxing Day Sea Dip. The dip regularly sees over 100 dippers taking the plunge into and icy Irish Sea.
With a temperate of 9 degrees Celsius, as soon as the dippers are in — they are out again!
Each year the event is raises money for a specific good causes and other local charities and organizations.
The St Georges Hotel kindly host the event in its new facility – The Menai.
With entertainment in the hotel and Christmas Carols we try to bring a really warm spirit to the day even if the weather is cold.
The latest information we have is that the Lion Boxing Day Sea Dip is under review. Currently the Llandudno Lions have all the permits in place to hold the event but it will be down to the safety and welfare of all those participating whether we actually hold the event. No fund raising event is worth the risk of people getting hurt or ill. Keep following our website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages for updates.
Find out more about the HERE.
