Open Water Swimming in Godstone
One of the reasons we launched InTandridge was to let people know about interesting and exciting things locally that they may not already know about…hidden gems!
And that is exactly what we discovered this week, when we went for an open water swim at Divers Cove in Godstone!
Divers Cove is situated off the A25 in Godstone on the site of the old Sand Quarry and there is a beautiful 7 acre lake open as a scuba diving and open water swimming venue.
Having just got back from Ibiza, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to stepping into English water… this time yesterday, it was bright sunshine. Today though (Tuesday 26th July), it’s been cloudy all day and I wouldn’t fancy a dip in the kids paddling pool, let alone a deep lake!
Divers Cove’s website mentions that a full wetsuit is required if the water temperature is below 23 degrees. With just swimming trunks in my bag, I was fully prepared (and possibly even hoping) that they wouldn’t allow me to swim. No problem. I’ll take a few photos, speak to a few swimmers and still feature it on InTandridge.
It’s easy to miss the track leading to Divers Cove (like I did), so go slowly when you are close and keep an eye out for their sign.
I was met by Donna and Max in the cafe/reception area and I explained my fear (or hope) about not having a wetsuit. Divers Cove have a few spare that they rent out, but the water was 23 degrees anyway, so I didn’t need one. I did need a brightly coloured swimming hat though, which I was able to borrow.
Looking down at the lake through trees, it looks stunning and the water is a gorgeous green colour (see the top photo).
I slipped my trunks on and made my way down for a safety briefing with Mike. All new swimmers are required to undertake an assessment to ensure their safety in the water. Safety is obviously something that Divers Cove take seriously – there’s a safety officer on the pontoon as well as two safety kayaks on the water. A safety kayak will also chaperone new swimmers around the course if they are feeling nervous.
Having had the safety briefing, it was time to enter the water! Amazingly, it was easier getting into this water than it was getting into the Mediterranean Sea, as my body temperature was much lower than it was under the Ibizan sun.
I couldn’t believe how warm the water felt and after a few minutes of letting my body acclimatise, I was ready to swim the 450m circuit. (There’s also a 650m circuit).
Simon, the owner of Divers Cove, kayaked around with me, which was great as 450m looked (and felt) like quite a long way on what was my first proper swim for years.
I honestly couldn’t believe how great the water felt. As well as being much much warmer than I expected, it also felt super clean. The scenery swimming around was also fantastic with the different greens of the trees surrounding the cove – so much more interesting than swimming up and down at a swimming pool, staring at the same walls. It really is a beautiful, tranquil location to enjoy an open water swim.
Everyone I met at Divers Cove, both staff and swimmers, were really friendly and encouraging and I’ve already been looking in to buying a wetsuit for when the temperature drops!
As well as providing a super venue for a swim, Divers Cove is also used by people training for Tri-Athlons, Du-Athlons and Iron Man competitions. Sylvie Wollaston (above with Simon), the very first swimmer at Divers Cove, trained for an Iron Man competition there, and just completed her first Outlaw event (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and full marathon run) in 13 hours – coming first in her age group!
There is a cafe open for bacon rolls, hot and cold drinks and snacks for a well deserved refreshment after your swim. Changing rooms and toilets as well as bike storage for the tri-athletes who make a training session as part of their visit.
InTandridge 100% recommends Open Water Swimming at Divers Cove!
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Price: To join Divers Cove for Open Water swimming the cost is £15 – including your first swim. Then each swimming session is £5 per visit.
Swimming times (currently): Tuesday and Thursday evenings 6pm – 8pm and Saturday and Sunday mornings 9am – 11am.
Customer Care: 01883 336602 | Sales: 07799 412005 | Email: [email protected]
Address: North Park Lane, Godstone, Surrey, RH9 8ND
More information (including dive information) and photos here at Divers Cove’s website
