Adventures & Retreats

Join us for a relaxing retreat or the adventure of a lifetime!

Wild Swimming Adventure Holidays and Retreats in Scotland

Whether you are looking for an incredible adventure or a relaxing wild swimming retreat, our swimming holidays let you experience Scotland’s incredible landscape in a unique way – from an aquatic viewpoint. Escorted by our highly qualified swim guides, we provide you with a safe swimming experience so that you can relax and enjoy your stunning surroundings.

At SwimWild, our primary aim is to provide high-quality swimming experiences, swim guides, swim safety, food and accommodation. We hand-pick all of our locations and accommodation very carefully. We source our food locally, often using local chefs, and we work with local boat pilots and experts to make sure that we deliver safe, unique swim experiences.

SwimWild is NOT a big company offering lots of holidays and retreats each year. Instead, we specialise in providing a small number of exceptional experiences for swimmers. As such, the trips we offer may vary from year-to-year. Please check the details of individual swim trips below or sign up to our newsletter to keep up-to-date with what we have on offer.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION – PLEASE READ!

SwimWild is taking a break from running trips/retreats/events and workshops between Autumn 2023 and Spring/Summer 2024 due to Alice being on maternity leave.

**The SwimWild shop will continue to operate over this time. We aim to ship all orders within 2 working days (print-on-demand items may take longer). For any shop related enquiries please contact Fiona at shop@swimwilduk.com

Trips/retreats & workshops will start up again from late summer 2024 onwards.

To stay up to date with all the latest news (including when new dates are released and open for bookings) please make sure you are signed up to our newsletter – SIGN UP**

Retreats

Join one of SwimWild’s wonderful weekend or week-long retreats based in the beautiful Cairngorms National Park. Suitable for beginners and experienced swimmers alike, relax and unwind with gentle walks and couple of dips each day, with absolutely no pressure to swim far or fast. Comfortable accommodation, an ample supply of delicious food and plenty of down time mean that you will leave feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

Choose a retreat below

Swimming and Yoga Retreat

Join SwimWild for a relaxing week of swimming, gentle walks and yoga in the Cairngorms National Park. Based at the Dell of Abernethy, a stunning Highland lodge that specialises in fresh, locally sourced seasonal food, you’ll get the chance to experience the magic of the Cairngorms with like-minded swimmers.

BACK IN 2024!

Cairngorms Winter Retreat

Join us for a magical weekend of winter swimming. There will be the chance to enjoy two or three short winter dips each day, followed up by wonderful home-cooked food and time to chill around Inshriach’s cosy log fires.

BACK IN WINTER 2024/25!

Adventure Holidays

Join one of SwimWild’s exciting week-long or weekend adventures around Scotland’s incredible coastline and islands. Our adventure trips often collaborate with local boat operators and involve a reasonable amount of walking to help us get to some of the most spectacular and really hard-to-reach swim locations. There are likely to be multiple short swims per day, as well as some optional longer swims. As with all our holidays, we focus on exploring these incredible locations rather than swimming particularly long distances. You can always choose to just join in with the shorter swims and dips, or participate in every swim.

Choose your favourite trip below.

Outer Hebrides and St Kilda Expedition

Join SwimWild on an unforgettable swimming expedition as we explore the islands that make up the Northern Outer Hebrides. Our itinerary for the week will be completely flexible and we will swim amongst some of Britain’s most spectacular landscapes

Week-long, Saturday-Friday, 7 days / 6 nights

Knoydart and the Isles Adventure

Join SwimWild on an unforgettable swimming and walking adventure as we explore remote parts of the Knoydart peninsula, Skye and the Small Isles!

Week-long, Saturday-Friday, 7 days / 6 nights

BACK IN 2024!

West Coast Weekends

Join SwimWild for an adventurous weekend exploring the coastline around Glenuig and Moidart. White sands, turquoise waters, history, wildlife and adventure – this part of Scotland has it all.

Weekend, Friday – Sunday, 3 days / 2 nights

BACK IN 2024!

Bespoke Experiences & Private Guiding

While our fixed-date group swimming holidays and retreats are our main adventures we can also occasionally set up private retreats or adventure holidays for self-contained groups on dates that suit you. Minimum numbers apply, and as a general rule, private group bookings require at least 6-12 months advanced notice.

We can also sometimes offer full and half-day guided swim adventures the Cairngorms National Park for individuals and small groups.

What our swimmers say…

Cairngorms Winter Retreat

Recommend this SwimWild break 100%. If you are hesitating … do it! This was one of my all time top weekends! Wonderful swims organised by Alice and Becca, great company and food. Water about 2 degrees, euphoria levels off the scale!

Isabel Berwick

Retreat January 2023

Swimming & Yoga Retreat

The first ever Swimming & Yoga Retreat was amazing Alice and Becca! Everything about it was very special indeed from the spectacular swim locations, to the sublime food (that sticky toffee pudding!) to the camaraderie of my fellow wild swimmers but most of all, you 2! You both made the retreat wonderful in every way as every day was really well organised and so much fun too!! Thank you so much SwimWild!

Karen Simpson

Retreats 2022 & 2023

Cairngorms Winter Retreat

If kelpies organised weekends the winter retreat would be the magic they would cast. Amazing swims in 6 beautiful and varied lochs as well as the Spey. Great organisation, comfort, lots of food, warmth & gin tasting. Hands up to a memorable weekend – thanks Alice!

Lynda Stoddart

Janury 2020 and January 2022

Outer Hebrides & St Kilda Expedition

I loved it! The holiday was perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing. The SwimWild guides were brilliant. This part of Scotland is in my history and my heart and the sea always played a huge part in that so I was in my element. The SwimWild team gave me exactly the holiday I wanted.

Kate Gillwood

Adventures 2019

Knoydart & the Isles Adventures

I loved this year so much, I want to come back again for the same trip next year!

Sarah Cameron

Adventures 2021

West Coast Weekend

A huge thank you for the weekend at Glenuig. It was lovely to meet you and with such a wonderful group of swimmers. It was all very relaxed and fun swimming and being together. The situation was beautiful, accommodation just brilliant, warm, clean, welcoming staff and the food excellent.

To be away and have some me time in perfect conditions with a group of lovely people was just what I needed to recharge my batteries. Thank you.

Sua Vaughn

Adventure May 2022

Cairngorms Winter Retreat

The weekend exceeded my expectations in all respects-

Firstly the location was second to none! A very special part of the world!

The accommodation was extremely comfortable but not so posh that we were worried about drips from wet kit! The open fires were amazing and facilitated some great conversations and games! The food was absolutely delicious and perfect in terms of timings and quantity. The structure and pace of the weekend was excellent- enough dips and swims but timings allowing for relaxed meal times and unhurried preparation for swims. We enjoyed the walks to and from the swims especially the one to the Green Lochan.

The leadership provided by you and your team was excellent as was communication and safety. I really enjoyed the conversations with yourselves and with the other swimmers on the walks, minibus trips, mealtimes and cosied up by the fire!

Thank you for organising the weekend with such care and thought! We hope to be able to join you again in the future!

Nicole Kenny

Retreat 2023