A Challenging but Enjoyable Solo Swim Hike in Pembrokeshire
Swim Hiking, also known as Swim Trekking, Cross Country Swimming, and likely many other names, involves a combination of hiking and swimming, towing your gear behind you. With its rugged coastline and beautiful clear seas, the Pembrokeshire is perfect for it!
Autumn is a great month for swimming, when the sea is at its warmest and the light is crisp clear, with air temperature starting to drop. It all makes swim hiking a very pleasant activity.
So, when high pressure hit this weekend we took the chance to swim hike along a route we've had our eye on for some time, which incorporated a 5+km swim leg from Stackpole Quay to Freshwater East.
After numerous recces of the route, I had an idea of where the challenging bits would be, but you never really know until you do it! So, just do it!
It's often a good idea to walk the route beforehand as you can see hidden dangers and the effects of tides and wave action from a higher position, so I walked the coast path and planned the route in detail, as well as planned logistics such as pickups and also safety/cut off times/emergency procedures etc.
After a short walk to Stackpole Quay we packed our gear into a 20L capacity rucksack, making sure everything was secure and the essential/emergency items were easy to access. We then bundled this into a heavy duty waterproof bag, which was part of the RuckRaft assembly, and then headed off on the swim.
After numerous recces of the route, I had an idea of where the challenging bits would be, but you never really know until you do it.
There was a gentle swell for most of the swim, although the weather did start to roll in towards the end and we were being 'chased' by dark storm clouds with 1km to go, which added to the adventure. The water was very clear though, with 7-8m viz in parts, and was a lovely cool 16-17°.
The rucksack was about 8-10kg, which was towed on the 'RuckRaft'. The RuckRaft performed perfectly - it is such a great bit of kit. Contents of the rucksack included clothes, lightweight walking shoes, water, chocolate, powdered hot drinks and dehydrated food. The weight was fine although the wind did pick up half way and we started to notice the drag more as the swim went on.
Swim hiking can be as long or short as you like, but for routes over a couple of km long we recommend packing a small stove or at least taking a thermos flash of hot chocolate as this does wonders to keep your spirits up and warm you up after a cool swim.
Towards the end of a 5km swim, after towing this gear all the way, with no fins for assistance, the shoulders were starting to feel the strain, so I was glad to eventually get to shore for the subsequent hike.
Here you can see I made a nice cup of hot chocolate when I got to Freshwater East. The stove in this case is a lightweight twig stove - driftwood is always available on beaches and the small fire has the added advantage that it can be used as a heat source if you're cold.
If you're wondering what to wear on your feet - choose something that packs quite small. There's no real need for heavy clunky hiking boots. And sometimes (rarely) you may want to even swim with them on, if you think you need to exit on rocky shorelines or rocky beaches.
Personally, I love the Vibram 5 Finger trail shoes and they're perfect for swimrunning/swim hiking. Lightweight, flexible, easy to drain.
I usually take an old army water bottle that takes about 1 liter of water, which is useful for keeping hydrated and also for hot drinks. I also pack a LifeStrawwater filter if I ever need to tap into natural water sources if I run out of water on route.
The Yorkie was great too!
The total distance of this particular route was about 7km, with the key element being the 4-5km swim in the middle of two short hikes.
Overall it was a very enjoyable route, but definitely requires respect in exposed areas and it's important to know your route beforehand so you can make sure you know all areas you can exit the water early if needed and carry on, on foot.
Also important to consider are whether the route is linear, do you need a pick up, what's the weather forecast, is it likely to change? What are the tides, currents etc.?
Reasearch, research, research.
Swim Pembrokeshire run Swim Hike excursions through the Spring, Summer and Autumn - contact us here to do a swim hike in Pembrokeshire!