Pretty much anyone enjoys bobbing about in the balmy waters of the Mediterranean, but submerging yourself into glacial lakes or cold lidos is not for the faint-hearted.
However, wild swimming in cold waters is a rapidly growing wellness trend, with more people than ever taking the plunge – in fact, searches for ‘wild swimming’ soared by 90 percent in the UK this month.
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Outdoor clothing brand Icewear has produced a ‘hot and cold therapy’ index, showcasing the very best spots in the world not only for natural hot therapy (such as taking a dip in thermal springs) but also for cold therapy, or wild swimming.
To do so, it analysed 54,000 Google reviews for 60 different worldwide locations, and ranked them based on which ones had the most positive keywords (like ‘authentic’, ‘invigorating’, ‘relaxing’ and ‘transformative’) included.
So, the very best wild swimming spot on the planet? Well, that’d be Lake Bled. According to this index, 76.8 percent of its reviews are positive – but with views like the ones you’ll find here, we’re hardly surprised.
The lake, just under an hour from Ljubljana, offers gorgeous bathing conditions, with surface water temperatures reaching 25C in the summer. It’s so beautiful that included it in our guide to the planet’s most beautiful lakes.
It gets pretty busy with visitors, but the cerulean waters and snow-capped peaks that overlook its shores – plus a namesake island which comes with a ridiculously photogenic church – mean it’s still worth the visit.
In joint second place with a solid approval rating of 72 percent were the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland and Moraine Lake in Canada. Canada shone in this list, with Banff National Park claiming third place (closely following with a 71.2 percent proportion of positive reviews) and Peyto Lake ranking in 10th.
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Four US destinations also made the list – Lake Tahoe, Mohonk Mountain House, Sand Valley, Nekoosa in Wisconsin and Lake Superior. Scroll on to see how they ranked.
The world’s 20 best wild swimming spots
- Lake Bled, Slovenia
- Moraine Lake, Canada
= Cairngorm National Park, Scotland - Banff National Park, Canada
- Lake Tahoe, USA
- Mohonk Mountain House, USA
- Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye
- Sand Valley, Nekoosa in Wisconsin, USA
- Bude Sea Pool, England
- Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand
- Peyto Lake, Canada
- The Forty Foot, Ireland
- Lago di Braies, Italy
= Lake Superior, USA - Forest Lagoon & GeoSea, Iceland
- Silfra Fissure, Iceland
- Rio Celeste, Costa Rica
- The Allas Sea Pool, Finland
- Brockwell Lido, England
- Akchour Waterfalls, Morocco
Why take the plunge?
Cold water swimming can reportedly boost your immune system, improve your heart and mental health, and generally enhance your overall well-being. Anyone who’s a regular plunger will wax lyrical about how good you feel afterwards.
contributor and author of The Year I Lay My Head In Water started cold water swimming to, in her words, ‘shock [her]self back to life’. You can check out this extract about her first-ever exhilarating swim.
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