Latest news with #cold water swimming
BBC News
06-08-2025
- General
- BBC News
Wiveliscombe Pool project will allow it to open over winter
A historic lido should be able to stay open over the winter months when the construction of a new heated pool house is Pool in Wiveliscombe, Somerset, was given planning permission for a £250,000 development - which will include a cafe, toilet and space for lifeguards - on 25 proposals were approved despite some objections over the impact the development could have on the look of the neighbouring war memorial recreation ground.A Somerset Council planning officer said the benefits to the community outweighed the harm the development could cause in the conservation area. The pool's trustees hope the project will be finished by spring 2026. Mike Davis, a trustee at the community pool, said there was "a big call for cold water swimming" and the new development would extend the pool's swimming £233,000 of a £250,000 target for the project has been raised so far, Mr Davis said. He added: "It's a great achievement, it's a community pool so we have a lot of activities. "It's great to see kids come in, we teach them to swim and later on they become lifeguards."Work on the project is due to start over the winter.
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Dorset paramedic in 'world first' highest lakes swim challenge
A paramedic will attempt to swim 1,000 metres in each of the highest lakes in Scotland, England, and Wales in under 30 Bell-Starr, from Dorset, believes he will be the first person to attempt the feat, which will involve swimming in temperatures as low as 6C (43F) in the majority of the challenge will be on foot, with more than a marathon's worth of hiking and 3,000 metres of elevation to reach the Bell-Starr is taking on the "tri-lake swim" to raise money for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA), Duckling Pre-School and Cancer Research UK. He said: "I've swum 500km (310 miles) in 365 days and I've cycled from Aberdeen to Weymouth on a stationary bike whilst working on a ship. "I have had a few friends do the Three Peaks Challenge, and I really love swimming, so I thought about a way of combining the two events. "An evening of Googling later and I cannot find any trace of people swimming in the highest lakes in the three home countries, so the challenge was born."Mr Bell-Starr said he expected the hardest part to be the cold and the dark. "I anticipate that the lakes will be much colder than the sea, and could be well into the single-figure temperatures, possibly as low as six or seven degrees," he said."I anticipate that the English lake swim will take place in the dark, so my support crew will have to keep an eye on my small reflective safety buoy to keep me safe."He said he was preparing by spending "many hours" on the treadmill and regularly ran 20 to 30km (12-18 miles) a week. Scotland's - and the UK's - highest lake is Loch Etchachan, in the Cairngorms, at 927m (3,041 ft) above sea Llyffant, in the Carneddau mountains, is the highest in Wales, at 815m (2,674 ft) and Red Tarn in the Lake District is England's highest, at 718m (2,356 ft). You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
