Secret Wild Swimming Spots in the Lake District

The first gasp is the most shocking bit…but somehow the most exhilarating. Then your shoulders drop under the surface. The noise in your head goes quiet. You look up at a fell you were standing on an hour ago and the whole day rearranges itself. Nothing else in Britain feels quite like this.

The Lake District has become the home of wild swimming in England, and for good reason. Sixteen lakes and hundreds of tarns, fed by a spider's web of rivers running off the highest ground in England. Some of the loveliest pools sit ten minutes from a car park with nobody else in sight.

Here are our favourite secret wild swimming spots in the Lake District, along with the parking, the walk in, the safety knowledge worth having before you get anywhere near the water, and where to book if you would rather not go it alone.

What's So Great About Wild Swimming in the Lake District?

Where do we start? Start with the water itself. On a bright day, the pools of upper Eskdale and the Duddon Valley run emerald and turquoise, gin clear right down to the pebbles. Honestly, the colour looks like something from a long-haul flight and a much bigger budget. No flight required, and the sandwich situation is entirely up to you.

Then look up. You are swimming under the Langdale Pikes, or beneath Scafell, or with the whole sweep of a glacial valley curving away in front of you. Waterfalls tip into gorges lined with moss and rowan. Old packhorse bridges arch over pools deep enough to lose sight of the bottom. Sheep watch you from the bank with mild disapproval.

The sheer variety is the real draw. Fancy a proper long swim? Head for one of the tarns. After something short and gorgeous with a picnic rock attached? A river gorge will do nicely. Wanting deep water and a cliff to jump off, or a shingle beach to wade in from, the Lakes have both within a few miles of each other.

Swimming is allowed in most of the lakes, tarns and rivers here, though a handful are off limits. The Lake District National Park confirms no swimming in Ennerdale Water, Haweswater, Thirlmere or Kentmere reservoir, all of which supply drinking water. Some lakes are far busier than others too. Windermere, Ullswater, Coniston and Derwentwater carry motorboat traffic, while Buttermere, Crummock Water, Grasmere, Loweswater, Rydal Water and Wastwater stay much quieter.

River swimming is wonderful and asks a bit more of you. More on those precautions further down.

5 Places You Simply Have To Swim in the Lake District

1. Tongue Pot, Upper Eskdale

Where: Upper Eskdale, in the far west of the National Park, close to Lingcove Bridge

Getting there: Park at the small car park by the cattle grid near Brotherilkeld, at the foot of Hardknott Pass. From there, follow the River Esk upstream for roughly two miles. Around four miles there and back, easy underfoot with a few rough, stony stretches. Allow half a day and take a picnic.

About the spot: Plenty of people call this the finest swimming hole in England, and after a summer afternoon there we struggle to argue. A long emerald pool sits beneath an old packhorse bridge, walled in by smooth rock on both sides, with a pebble beach at one end and a waterfall pouring in at the other. An oak leans over the water. The pool runs properly deep, so strong swimmers use the rocks for jumping, though check your depth and landing every single time before anyone leaves the ground. Being a fair walk from the road, you will often find the whole place empty on a weekday.

2. Galleny Force, Stonethwaite, Borrowdale

Where: Stonethwaite valley, Borrowdale, in the northern Lakes

Getting there: Roadside parking in Stonethwaite village is limited, so arrive early or use the National Trust car park at Rosthwaite and walk in. From Stonethwaite the pools sit about 15 minutes along the valley path. Flat, easy and fine with children.

About the spot: Locals call this one the Fairy Glen, which sounds twee right up until you see the place. Ancient rowans lean over a series of clear pools, with flat slabs of rock alongside for drying off and grassy banks for lunch. Most visitors stop at the first pool, so keep going and drop down to the lower ones for a bit of peace. Push further up into the Langstrath valley and you reach Black Moss Pot, a deep gorge pool with a proper cliff jump. Around four miles there and back, and no longer a secret at weekends, so go early.

3. Birks Bridge, Duddon Valley

Where: The Duddon Valley, southern Lake District, on the road between Ulpha and Cockley Beck

Getting there: Birks Bridge Forestry car park, LA20 6EF, donation box, cash only. The walk is about 260 metres each way on flat ground. Roughly four minutes. Yes, four.

About the spot: For an outrageous reward to effort ratio, nothing beats this one. A narrow gorge of pale rock, a natural arch, and a graceful eighteenth century packhorse bridge over a pool of deep emerald water. The clarity fools everyone, because the pool looks waist deep and is anything but. Enter over the boulders at the edge and take your time on the rocks, which get slippery. Give the jumping a miss here, there are rocks below the surface and the depth shifts with the weather. Bring a flask, sit on the bridge afterwards and watch the light move through the water.

4. Buckstones Jump, Rydal

Where: Rydal Beck, above Rydal village, between Ambleside and Grasmere

Getting there: Rydal Hall car park, about £5 for the day. From there a steady uphill walk of about 45 minutes follows the beck through woodland. Two miles there and back, moderate, with grippy shoes strongly advised.

About the spot: Our pick for a first proper wild swim. A small shingle beach lets you wade in gradually rather than launching yourself off a rock, and the shallow edge gives younger swimmers somewhere to paddle while everyone else gets braver. The water deepens quickly a few strides out, and the pull near the little waterfall turns strong after rain, so stay away from the falls and skip this one entirely if the beck is running high. Go early on a summer morning and the pool belongs to you.

5. Easedale Tarn and Sour Milk Ghyll, Grasmere

Where: Above Grasmere, central Lakes

Getting there: Lancrigg car park charges about £6 for the day and refunds against lunch, or find free roadside spaces further along Easedale Road, which fill early. A 3.7 mile loop with 230 metres of ascent, easy to moderate, mostly good path with a boggy patch and stepping stones on the way back.

About the spot: Two swims for one walk. A mile in you reach Sour Milk Ghyll, a waterfall with a small, perfectly shaped pool at the base, and being open to the sun the water runs warmer than most. Carry on to Easedale Tarn at 1.7 miles and the scale changes completely. A wide mountain tarn ringed by crags, deep enough close to the shore, and big enough for a proper long swim rather than a quick dip. Even in August you will often have the tarn largely to yourself.

Wild Swimming Safety Tips

Cold water is glorious and deserves respect. Learn the following and you will swim happily for years.

• Cold water shock is the real risk

Water under 15 degrees affects your breathing and your grip within seconds, and Lake District tarns stay under the mark for most of the year. Enter slowly, splash your face and neck first, and let your breathing settle before you swim properly. If the shock catches you out, the RNLI advice is to fight the urge to thrash, roll onto your back, tilt your head back and float until your breathing calms down.

• Expect colder water than the sea

Deep tarns and lakes hold their cold right through a heatwave, and the temperature drops sharply as you go down. Wastwater is the deepest lake in England, and the water at depth reflects this.

• Bring a changing robe

Getting out is the moment you find out how nippy Cumbria gets. A robe, a woolly hat, dry clothes laid out ready and a warm drink turn a shivery scramble into a lovely bit of smugness. Skip the hot shower straight afterwards and warm up gradually instead.

• New to cold water? Wear a wetsuit or a rash vest

Extra warmth, extra buoyancy, extra confidence, and a good deal longer in the water before the shivering starts. No shame in any of them.

• Understand the conditions before you get in

Check your entry point, work out where you would climb out in a hurry, look at how deep the water runs and watch for currents near any waterfall. Rivers rise fast after rain, so a gentle pool on Tuesday behaves quite differently on Thursday.

• Always swim with someone

Even a friend sitting on the bank with a phone and a towel makes a difference.

• On the busier lakes, stay near the shoreline

Windermere, Ullswater, Coniston and Derwentwater all carry motorboats, and boat crews will struggle to see a swimmer. Keep clear of moorings and ferry routes.

• Swim with a bright tow float

A fluorescent float makes you visible from a distance and gives you something to hold onto. Pair with a brightly coloured swim cap.

A few more worth adding:

• Never jump into water you have not checked with your own eyes first
• Look out for blue-green algae, which appears as a paint like scum on the surface. Stay out of the water and report sightings through the Bloomin' Algae app
• Remember the four places where swimming is banned outright: Ennerdale Water, Haweswater, Thirlmere and Kentmere reservoir
• Wear swim shoes or grippy sandals for rocky entries
• Carry a whistle and a waterproof phone pouch, and dial 999 in an emergency
• Check out the RNLI Float to Live advice
• Leave the pool exactly as you found the place, all litter home with you

Wild Swimming With Groups in The Lake District

Feeling a bit nervous about the whole idea? Completely normal, and honestly the fastest way past those nerves is other people.

Local swimming groups meet all over Cumbria, all year round, and they are famously welcoming to beginners. Someone will lend you a tow float, someone else will talk you through the first thirty seconds, and everybody will hand round the flapjack afterwards. Have a look at the UK Activity Breaks directory to find a guided swimming session or an organised group in the Lake District near you.

If a whole trip built around the water sounds better, Nab Cottage is a lovely place to start. The house sits on the shore of Rydal Water between Ambleside and Grasmere, with direct lake access from the garden, a sauna and a hot tub for afterwards, home cooked food and terraces looking straight out over the water. Rydal Water is one of the quieter lakes with no motorboat traffic, and Buckstones Jump sits a short walk up the beck. Swim before breakfast, walk in the afternoon, warm up in the sauna, eat far too much at dinner. Not a bad way to spend a few days.

Discover your next adventure on the UK Activity Breaks Free Directory and Activity Planning Service

Hundreds of pools, tarns and lakes, and every single one of them looks glorious in a photograph. Working out which trip suits you and your group is the hard part.

Which is why we offer a free planning service. You get a trusted UK travel expert who will help you plan the right wild swimming break in the Lake District, from a first guided session to a full week in the water.

Fancy taking advantage of the service? Get in touch and let's find your pool.