Whitlingham Adventure Winter Open Water Swimming (18yrs+)

Based within Whitlingham Country Park on the edge of Norwich; Whitlingham Adventure in conjunction with Tri-Anglia Triathlon Club provides safety covered dipping and open water swimming over marker buoyed course lengths.

The centre has changing rooms, shower facilities, bike parking by entrance and vehicle parking available in nearby Whitlingham Country Park Lime Tree car park (pay and display). Further details and annual parking passes available here.

Please see calendar dates for session details and pricing.

Swimmers may swim for as long as they wish around the marked course/s but must have exited the water before the session end time.
Changing rooms and heated cabin space are available for a further 30 minutes after session end

Whitlingham Adventure is Norfolk's largest open water swimming venue and hosts the Norwich Triathlon, Universities National Triathlon and Swim England Eastern region open water championships.

Whitlingham Adventure is a Beyond Swim and AdventureMark registered venue; Norfolk's largest provider of SwimSafe and new British Canoeing Swimmer Safety and Rescue Course schemes.

Audience - 18+ years

Pre-requisites - Strong swimming ability for the distance planned and confidence in natural open water. Confirmation of having read all required online learning content. Personal plan to acclimatise to the cold-water conditions

Distance: One of: Dipping from black slipway, 100m warm-up triangle, 180m diamond or & 400m rectangular course

Safety notes:

Swimmer/Dippers MUST read and confirm understanding of the required reading
Swimmers/Dippers MUST wear either a full wetsuit or a swim float.
Swimmers must wear provided yellow swim hat (so swimmers are identifiable to safety team)
Those dipping only must wear own woolley hat
Swimmers/Dippers must check in before entering the water and wear any provided swim band and hat
Swimmers must check out immediately on exiting the water and hand back provided hat/band
Swimmers must follow the marker buoyed course and safety team instructions (including if a full water evacuation is required in event of an emergency).
Swimming backstroke is not allowed (increases the likelihood of swimmer collisions and could be mistaken for a swimmer in distress).
There is no facility available for diving starts; the water near the lake edge is shallow and has a gravel pit bottom. Entry for winter swims is from boat park slipway enabling a gentle entry to allow body to adapt to cold water temperatures
Be considerate of other swimmers, they may not be as confident as they appear.
If you need to stop and rest, please do so a few metres to the side of the swim line (so other swimmers do not collide with you)
Do not rest or stop near buoys (unless an emergency) as collisions are likely.
Swim well within your limits. Unlike pool swimming there is no easy means of exiting the water.
If you need assistance float on you back and raise one arm so that the swim safety team may see
After pro-longed immersion in cold open water; a tepid shower and 30-40mins to re-acclimatise your body is advised, to prevent sharp blood pressure/blood glucose changes that may impact ability to drive/function

Wetsuits

Wetsuits are strongly advised (they provide both warmth, buoyancy and can be life saving in an emergency).
Generic centre wetsuits can be hired for £5/swim (subject to availability)
Where experienced open water swimmers wish to swim with non-wetsuits: self-provided swim floats are mandatory, shorter distances and warmer water temperatures are advised.
Decision to allow individual or group non-wetsuit swimming will be made by swim manager on the day and suitable swim floats must be worn

Please refer to the adjacent calendar to book

Cold Water Swimming required reading list:

Partner swim organisations

Tri-Anglia Triathlon Club
Further open water swimming opportunities at Whitlingham are available with Tri-Anglia Triathlon Club – Swim, Bike, Run members on Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings (Summer only).

Trianglia runs regular swimming in both summer and winter and members can access discounted annual parking passes.

Triharder
Triharder is a Norfolk based Triathlon shop in Dereham providing all things Triathlon including open water swimming wetsuits, goggles, changing robes and swim floats.

Triharder runs annual come and try open water swim sessions at Whitlingham Adventure in May