BYO wetsuit: The most unexpected places to dip your toe in the water in Britain

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If you’ve pushed the limits of your travel insurance surfing the Pipeline in Hawaii, tested the fortitude of your bowels inside a shark cage off the coast of South Africa and scuba-dived cursed shipwrecks in the Caribbean – you’re probably wondering “What’s next?” Well get ready to cover yourself in lard and squeeze into last summer’s wetsuit, because the hottest place to cool off in the water these days is Britain.

Whether it’s surfing, wild swimming, sea kayaking, kite surfing, bog snorkelling, coasteering, mud running or flying into the sea that you’re into, Britain’s dramatic coastlines and many waterways are the perfect spot to get wet.

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Chasing the wind: Isle of Wight, England

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Is ‘extreme’ your middle name? Do you ever look at a kite flapping about helplessly in gale force winds and think, you’re doing it wrong? Well for those who like their sea based adventures to be a little ‘breezy’, the Isle of Wight and its growing kitesurfing community are where you should be.

Combining the best elements of surfing, wakeboarding and kite flying, kitesurfing is a popular sport on the Isle of Wight and attracts tourists from all around the world.  With an incredibly varied coastline and a range of protected and exposed beaches, the Isle caters for beginner and expert kite surfers alike.

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Diving to chilling depths: west coast of Scotland

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With some of the coldest, but most spectacular diving in Britain, the west coast of Scotland draws scuba tank appreciating swimmers from around the globe with amazing water clarity, underwater geography and diversity of marine life. Set against the above water backdrop of soaring mountains and mystic lochs, the West coast of Scotland is an outdoor and underwater adventures paradise.

But forget pulling on a wetsuit to get into the water – you’re not really pushing the limits for where the human body should go in the water world unless there’s a need for several decompression stops and you’re covered in the thick layers of protective rubber otherwise known as a dry-suit.

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Surf’s up for bore riders: River Severn, Gloucestershire, England

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A common mistake most people make is thinking that every surfing hotspot must have a sandy shore, a shallow reef break and a well-stocked beach bar. River Severn in Gloucestershire goes a long way to proving this preconception wrong and is actually the third highest tidal range in the world. The tidal range on the Severn can grow to as much as 15 metres, and this combined with the ‘funnel’ shaped estuary causes the incoming tide to create a bore and visible wave. When the conditions are good you can see surfers attempting to catch the wave, which can travel at around 20 kilometres per hour, for up to 32 kilometres.

Stories of a one-time two-metre-high wave float around among the locals, but regardless of how big the wave gets, it’s worth donning a wetsuit and trying to catch it yourself! Or at least take along a camera and capture the truly spectacular natural phenomenon on Instagram so your friends believe you.

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Getting your face bogged: World Bog Snorkelling Championships, Wales

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Like all great inventions in the history of mankind, the sport of bog snorkelling was conceived over a few beers in a pub. While the genesis of this offbeat athletic endeavour may have been a light-hearted discussion between a local landlord and his regular drinkers in the 1970’s in the small Welsh village of Llanwrtyd Wells, today the Bog Snorkelling Championships are open to competitors from around the world every August.

The championships involve competitors completing two consecutive lengths of a water filled trench cut through a peat bog, in the shortest time possible. Those competing are allowed to wear wetsuits, snorkels and flippers – but the kicker is that they are not allowed to use conventional swimming strokes to complete their laps.

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Hiking on tracks, rock and through water: Pembrokeshire coastline, Wales

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Have you ever looked at a sea cliff and thought, I’d like to jump off that in a heroic Hollywood action film climactic rescue scene kind of way? Does swimming through an ocean cave sound like a fun way to pass an afternoon? Well coasteering along the Pembrokeshire coastline in Wales has all the adrenaline-fueled adventure elements that any keen Bear Grylls wannabe needs, as well as the amazing natural landscapes that will have you stopping in awe to take epic photos (if you have a shock-proof and water-proof camera that is).
Without a boat, surfboard or any kind of floatation device, coasteering, is essentially a mixture of rockpooling and ocean swimming, and sees participants throwing themselves off cliffs into water, swimming through caves and whirlpools. While it isn’t for the faint hearted, once you pull on a wetsuit and helmet and are properly kitted up with safety gear, there are few more exciting ways to see the British coast.
—STA Travel has exclusive discounts on British accommodation, with savings of up to 25% for Australian travellers. To book visithttp://www.statravel.com.au/cheap-flights.htm or call 134 782.