A Tenby tradition for more than fifty years: fancy dress, a countdown, and over a thousand people running into the sea on 26 December.
Tenby has been doing this for more than fifty years; 2025 was the 53rd swim. On Boxing Day the beach fills with people in Santa suits, superhero costumes, tinsel and not much else, and on the countdown they all run into the sea for charity. For where to stay, and what is known so far about 2026, see where to stay for the Tenby Boxing Day Swim.
Where it happens. North Beach, with the medieval town stacked up behind and Castle Hill on one side. It is a photogenic setting for something so undignified.
Where to watch. The Croft, Castle Hill and the harbour all look down on the beach and give you the whole scene. The beach itself gives you the noise. Arrive well before the start rather than at it.
If you are swimming. Wetsuits are allowed and plenty of people wear them; plenty do not. The sea is near its coldest of the year, which takes your breath out in the first few seconds. Walk in rather than dive, do not swim out, and get straight into dry clothes afterwards — the danger is not the swim, it is the twenty minutes after it. Changing robe, hat, gloves, hot drink, dry shoes.
The honest bit. Boxing Day parking in Tenby is grim and the walk in from the outer car parks is long. Most cafes and pubs open afterwards but not all, and the queue for anything hot is substantial. It is a five-minute event surrounded by two hours of logistics, and everyone who goes does it again the next year anyway.
The 2026 start time and registration had not been announced when we last checked; watch the organisers' own announcement.
A charity swim running for more than fifty years. Swimmers in fancy dress go into the sea off Tenby's North Beach on Boxing Day.
No booking to spectate. The 2026 start time and swimmer registration had not been announced when last checked.
Before you plan around this
Dates change every year — check with the organiser before you travel
We don't sell tickets and take no commission on any of these — links go straight to whoever runs it.
Accommodation books up around the bigger events — Tenby especially.
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