Sea Swimming the IronMan Wales Circuit
Swim the world famous IronMan Wales swimming route.
Get a written swim assessment, cam footage and follow up training!
Sea Swimming Pembrokeshire - Tenby
Tenby is a very well known and popular sea side town in Pembrokeshire with lots of local shops, pubs, narrow streets and loads of history. The town is blessed with two long beaches and a quaint, working harbour, surrounded by brightly coloured houses.
Tenby is the home of two major events in the Triathlon calendar: Long Course Weekend, which takes place in July each year and Iron Man Wales, which takes place in September. The events are extremely well organised and draw thousands of competitors and spectators. These events are spectacular, both from a competitor's and spectator's perspective.
The town itself dates from the Norman times, as can be seen by its castle overlooking the ocean. It also has a Napoleonic fortress, fine Georgian architecture, a restored 15th century merchant's house, a Norman church and numerous old pubs.
The other popular event that takes place in the summer every year at Tenby is the Caldey Island Swim, a well organised event with about 100 available swim places from Caldey Island (pictured below) to Tenby North Beach.
IronMan Swim Options
Tenby is the location for the IronMan Wales event, touted as possibly the hardest of all of the IronMan routes. That starts with the swim, which starts at the crack of dawn as the sun rises over the horizon, with thousands of spectators swinging the Welsh national anthem from the cliffs behind the athletes. There's really nothing like it!
The sea can be beautiful and calm, or more often than not, choppy with big swell, making it an extremely challenging swim by anyone's standards. Chop, waves, jellyfish and a mid course sprint around Goscar Rock, all make this a very 'interesting' swim experience.
If you're an IronMan competitor and want to hone your swimming skills and experience, there are two swim options for you to choose from:
A basic familiarisation swim of the IMW route.
TE-02 IronMan Full Swim Package
Swim the IMW route, swim stroke assessment, cam footage, sighting/starts/turns, written swim assessment and recommendations, consolidation session and training activities.
Other Tenby Swim Options
Route TE03 - Tenby South Beach
This is a standard beach swim along Tenby's South Beach.
This swim is good for beginners and those who just want to get some distance in, or more advanced swimmers who want to do distance/speed work and drills with our fully qualified and experienced open water swim coaches.
Starting on the beach we will take you out about 100m then swim parallel to the beach, turn around and come back. This swim is ideal for practising drills and beach starts.
Distance 2km - 3km
Duration: 40-60 mins
Route TE04 - Tenfoot Swim
The Tenfoot swim route follows the famous and ever popular 'Tenfoot Swim' route from Tenby to Saundersfoot, a distance of 5km.
Distance 5km
Duration: 2-3 hours
Considerations
Tenby is a safe bay to swim in but it is a working area and the harbour should be avoided. Also there is a life boat ramp at Tenby so of course swimmers should avoid swimming around this area. Care should be taken at all times because of the boat traffic in the summer. You will also encounter jellyfish in the jellyfish season, which is approximately April to July.
Facilities
Parking
There is ample parking in Tenby although it is commonly short term so check the ticket durations. There is a multi storey car park in the town centre next to Sainsbury's that has long term parking at good rates.
Changing
There are no 'changing rooms' on the beach so sea swimmers will need to get changed by their cars and carry their gear, or get changed on the beach which is probably the best option as long as you can leave your valuables with someone or take them with you in a float with a watertight compartment.
Refreshments
There are loads of places to get snacks and food such as cafes, restaurants and pubs. You will not be hard pushed to get food and drink here!
Toilets
There are public toilets at the beaches.
Dogs
Dogs are NOT allowed on any Tenby beaches from April to October.
Equipment You'll Need
Standard list of sea swimming equipment applies, click here for more details.
Wildlife
You may come across some jelly fish during the spring, but are not likely to encounter much more than that. Tenby is a popular mackerel fishing destination but they are fairly far out at sea, however be careful of all of the fishing boats. You may see other bottom dwelling fish when swimming close to shore and the usual sea gulls abound here, which can be rather aggressive when on the beach - take care when eating!
