Wild Swimming Weekends 2026 So Far!

We've hosted 3 swim weekends since opening for 2026, all of which have been private group bookings with very different feelings to them but all full of awesome women having a wonderful time!

Wild Swim Weekend 1

The first wild swimming weekend was organised by Sarah, who was on her third swim weekend (we were even privileged enough to host her 50th birthday celebrations last year!). Sarah brought 4 of her friends, who were all on their second visit to us and it was so lovely to see them all again. As usual the weekend started with sauna and plunge pools but excitingly this was the first guest use of our new sauna and it was a hit! The great thing about having our own sauna is now there is the option to use it on multiple evenings.

As usual the waterfalls were magical and we enjoyed three swims and a picnic in the sunshine! On Sunday the group wanted to try some new locations, so we headed over to St Antony's Well and then Kerne Bridge for a dip in the Wye. St Antony's Well is thought to heal all ailments if you dip 9 times in May, so there was a lot of bobbing up and down to get the dips all done on one visit! I'm yet to hear if it was successful!

The weekend was rounded off with a meal cooked by me - Moroccan Chicken with apricots, prunes and olives, cous cous and a walnut and rocket salad. Then Sticky Toffee pudding, with plenty of extra toffee sauce and custard or ice cream!

Swim Weekend 2

For the first weekend of June we welcomed the Brighton Bobbers to Grove Farm for the first time. 8 ladies who normally swim in the sea and were excited to try some inland wild swimming spots. The weather was not on their side, and we did have to battle lots of wind and rain over the weekend but this didn’t stop us!

We switched up the plan for the weekend and met them all up at Keepers Pond to make the most of a semi dry and calm hour at 5pm on Friday, which was a big hit after over 4 hours journey time. Back to the farm and a chance to warm up in the sauna before Chilli Con Carne and Sticky Toffee Pudding.

On Saturday we headed to the waterfalls again with a forecast of heavy rain but high spirits as we were all going to get wet anyway! Sgwd Gwladys waterfall had so much more water coming over than the week before, so much more dramatic. A quick stop for brownies whilst hidden underneath the trees and then we were on to our second spot for a swoosh down the gorge and more brownies! Usually we take our time and have a picnic and although the rain wasn't quite as bad as forecast, it did stop us from hanging around. But this is where the sauna really shines, I got Dan to light the fire as we started heading home so it was nice and hot for our arrival back to Grove Farm so everyone could warm up nicely.

Dinner for Saturday was a creamy chicken, spinach and sun-dried tomato main with crispy potatoes and green veg. You might recognise this as the viral "Marry Me Chicken", a delicious dish with a stupid name! Look it up though as definitely recommended and there are so many varieties to try - lentils, beans, sausages or in a pie. Pudding was the Apple and Raspberry Crumble.

Sunday morning we headed over to Skenfrith for our final dip and then back for a final sauna before heading back home.

The Brighton Bobbers were such a great reminder that the weather doesn't have to ruin your plans - they were quite a hardy bunch but they just went with the flow, adjusted to our changes in plans and made the most of everything. We really hope they will come back next year and that we can show them a little bit of sunshine!

Swim Weekend 3

Next up we had another returning group, this time Sarah, Becky and Amy were on their fourth visit. What I really love about these returning guests is they actually feel like friends visiting now and the weekends just don't feel like work.

This group quite often like to do a decent walk on the Saturday afternoon, so we only had two swims planned for this weekend. Saturday morning was a swim at Punchbowl in the sunshine, which was perfect! The water at Punchbowl is a bit warmer as it is so sheltered, so perfect for a longer swim and we could see a family of geese around the edge too.

After lunch I joined them for a walk up Hatterall Hill, which is part of the Black Mountains and its the hill all the tents look towards. Amy had requested a route up here as they'd never made it up them before but spent many evenings looking out to them. The route is quite a tough up hill walk to get to the top but the views and satisfaction are so worth it!

Again I cooked both evening meals for this group, Chilli Con Carne and then Moroccan Chicken. Sticky Toffee Pudding and Apple and Raspberry crumble. There definitely seems to be some favourites from my menu. One of the group is Celiac and I am able to cook all of these options (and my brownies) with gluten free ingredients.

Sunday morning we went back to Skenfrith which is also a favourite with this group - they love the history of the castle and thinking about how many people have swam or washed there over the years.

I am so thankful for these groups that trust us for the first time and then keep returning year after year. If you think your swim group would like a weekend like one of these in 2027, then please do get in touch to secure your dates.

Coming up next...

Next up are our open swim weekends, these are where you can just book one tent and come either on your own, as a pair or as a three, so you don't need to be part of a bigger group to join one of these.

We've got two pairs coming for their third weekends - Shaz and Mel, Lisa and Kim - we can't wait to see you! But we also look forward to meeting some new swimmers and showing them our favourites swim spots.

We do have one tent left for the weekend beginning on the 24th July so please do get in touch if you are interested in booking this one, otherwise look out for 2027 dates, which we will launch is October time.

So thanks again to all our swimmers, we hope you enjoyed your weekends as much as we did and we are so looking forward to the rest of the swim weekends in 2026!