‘Exposure to cold water also activates the vagus nerve, which can help lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve ...

Sasha Lauer loves wild swimming for the benefits it brings to her wellbeing but worries about the state of her local rivers. "We are pragmatic about it and are careful to keep our heads out of the ...

The “wild swimming” trend — aka open-water swimming, or taking dips in lakes, rivers, streams or even the sea — isn't exactly new. Still, it has been increasing in popularity over the past decade, ...

It started with a cold-water plunge, and now outdoor, natural swimming is an obsession of mine. With 15,000 lakes and a robust water-quality testing system, Wisconsin is great for wild swimming. It ...

It’s 8am and I’m standing at the edge of my local lake at Beckenham Place Park in London, the early morning sun just beginning to peek over the trees. A layer of mist is rising from the cold water and ...

Beaches across Sussex and Kent will be welcoming sea swimmers for their mass annual dips during the festive period. Swimmers ...

Bragging rights and an adrenaline rush aren’t the only reasons to start the year with a frigid swim. A dip in icy water ...

My passion for cold water swimming began just before lockdown. Early one morning, while walking my dog on the beach, I saw a group of women having a great time. Known as the Salty Sisters, I was ...

Waterfall selfies, river dips and dawn swimming in the ocean, it seems like wild swimming is exploding across Wales, why not ...

Senses vary in their openness to language. If smells and tastes are hard to describe, the intimate somatosensory modalities may elude description altogether. A human body can sense its position and ...

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). There’s no better way to immerse yourself in nature than by going wild swimming. Every spot tells its own story: tidal pools fed by ...