The Chillswim Guided Swim Service includes:

• Chillswim’s rib boat
• RYA powerboat level 2 pilot with 10+ years experience of guiding swimmers on Windermere
• Chillswim Windermere trophy
• Live GPS tracking
• Results displayed on Chillswim website
• Personalised certificate

Pricing

Solo Windermere Swim (one person, 10k) £450

Solo Windermere Swim (one person, one way) £590

Solo Windermere Swim (one person, two way) £800

Two people Windermere Swim (10k, swimming together or relay) £550

Two people Windermere Swim (one way, swimming together or relay) £700

Two people Windermere Swim (two way, swimming together or relay) £900

Three people Windermere Swim (10k, swimming together or relay) £650

Three people Windermere Swim (one way, swimming together or relay) £800

Three people Windermere Swim (two way, swimming together or relay) £1000

We only operate one boat per day on the lake so when you make your booking you will pay a non-refundable £200 deposit to secure your calendar slot. The balance of your payment must be made not less than 4 weeks prior to the date you have booked, you will receive instructions on how to make the second payment in plenty of time.

To see the available dates click on the BOOK NOW button, any dates that are already taken will be marked as 'Sold out'.

Booking Protection

When you reserve your date with the £200 deposit it is possible to protect this using the optional Booking Protect service that you can take up during the entry process. If, due to specific circumstances like illness, injury or relocation you are unable to complete the booking it may be possible to recover that deposit through Booking Protect. This option is only available on the deposit and not on the balance payment.

Observer

An observer is essential for your swim, and you can either bring your own support crew (max 3 people for a solo swimmer) or we can provide you with an observer to monitor your stroke rate, manage your feeds, etc for £85 one-way, or £170 two-way. You will pay this directly to the observer.

Swim Dates and Times

We operate guided swims between June and September when the water temperature is typically between 13 and 20 degrees. The warmest water in the last two years has been July, but this by no means guaranteed! Our swims start at 6am or 7am when the lake is at its quietest, enabling the swimmer to make good progress before the commercial ferries begin operating and other motorised vessels operate. We tend to have most of our guided swims on weekdays to avoid sailing galas, motorboat events, and the general high boat traffic that a tourist destination such as Lake District attracts.

Medical

Open water swimming is a strenuous exercise. To avoid any doubt in your health and fitness, you should undertake a medical check-up including an ECG test before starting training for this event. The medical must be signed by your GP, state reference to your intended swim, and be uploaded onto the entry system no later than 4 weeks before your swim.

Please do not post hard copies to us. If you have been ill or have experienced a change in your wellbeing or physical state such as pregnancy since your medical, please consult a doctor.

Additional Swimmers

It is possible to have more than one swimmer guided, and you can book this through the entry system. Swimmers should either be the same pace or form a relay team. For swimmers of different paces we recommend booking individual swims.

Is there a time limit?

There is no time limit within which to complete your swim. Typically swimmers complete the length between 3 hours 46 mins (Dion Harrison 2014), and 8 hours for a one way. However, for safety reasons of the pilot and swimmer, if the swimmer is expected to take greater than 14 hours on a two way swim, an additional boat pilot will be required. The fee for greater than 14 hours is an additional £300, payable 4 weeks prior to swim, along with the balance payment. Please contact us if you think you may fall into this category.

Assessment Swims for English Channel Swimming qualifying swims

There are strict criteria for your 6-hour (solo) qualifying swim or 2-hour (relay) swims by the Channel Swimming & Pilot Federation (CS&PF) and Channel Swimming Association (CSA). Please check requirements with your channel swimming provider and we will ensure your swim is run under Channel Swimming Rules.