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4.5

(107)

The Great Run Company

Great North Swim

Name: Great North Swim
Start: 2027-06-11
End: 2027-06-11
Location: Windermere, UK
Rating: 4.53

Location

Windermere, UK

Date

11th June '27

6 Entry Options

Up to 1km

Up to 3km

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Rating Highlights

4.79 /5

Event Safety

4.77 /5

Supporting Staff

4.68 /5

Pre-event communication

Rating Overview

All Time Average

4.53

2026 Average

4.10

Rating Breakdown

Pre-event communication

4.68

Event Logistics

4.66

Supporting Staff

4.77

Event Safety

4.79

Course Navigation

4.51

Water Quality

4.39

Aid Stations

4.49

Swag

4.14

Sustainability

4.29

Facilities

4.00

Finish Area

4.14

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Features & Characteristics

Degree of Challenge

Ideal for beginners

61% of reviews

Atmosphere

Large Festival Atmosphere

88% of reviews

Location

Remote Nature

83% of reviews

Swimming

Lake

98% of reviews

Awards & Accolades

Racecheck Bronze Award - 2023

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Frequently asked questions

When is Great North Swim?

The next edition of Great North Swim takes place on 11 June 2027.

Where does Great North Swim take place?

Great North Swim takes place in Windermere, UK.

What distances does Great North Swim offer?

Entry options include: Up to 1km, Up to 3km, 3km+.

How is Great North Swim rated by runners?

Great North Swim has an average rating of 4.53 out of 5 from 107 verified participant reviews on Racecheck.

What is Great North Swim like?

Based on participant reviews, runners describe it as: Ideal for beginners (61% of reviews), Large Festival Atmosphere (88% of reviews), Remote Nature (83% of reviews), Lake (98% of reviews).

Taken part? Write your review

4.5

(107)

Nick S.

4.8

· 2026 Up to 3km ·

Awesome event. So well organized. The only thing missing were showers (i understand difficult to organize), but the rest was amazing. They thought about absolutely everything. It was for sure the best organized swim i ever did in my life.

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Scott A.

3.5

· 2026 Up to 3km ·

Mid way through my swim a Kayak crossed my pathway and ended up going directly over my head leaving me a little diss orientated. Not even an apology. Just kept on going . The spectators area was also very congested. My mrs & kids didn't see me doing any of the swim due to the amount of people attending and the area being very over crowded. There was a marathon on the same day adding an extra 800 runners to the event making the park and ride very busy. We waited 90 mins for our bus back to the carpark. Not great with 2 small children and a dog. Not sure id go back as it was a bit stressful.

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Sophie A.

4.4

· 2025 10k ·

A great event atmosphere, really enjoyed this. However aid station let the event down - the boat was too far off course and not easy to get your nutrition (describing your water bottle to a someone) - they couldn’t find my friends water bottle so she swam 10k for 4 hours with no ...

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Rebecca L.

4.3

· 2024 3km+ ·

I did the 10km but this is not an event for serious swimmers. They set off the 5 and 10km together which was fine, but then waves of much much slower swimmers doing head up breaststroke after us doing shorter distances. There were so many in each wave, it was impossible to find a safe way through when you are swimming so much faster. It’s exhausting for us and not safe for them. This is an event for people who want to try out open water swimming in a controlled environment and not serious swimmers, unless they hold the 5 and 10km separately which they have time to do.

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Georgia h.

3.9

· 2024 Up to 1km ·

All brillant

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Catherine T.

4.5

· 2024 Up to 3km ·

An excellent event, well run and managed. Very professional, well organised and I have already signed up for next year. A great opportunity for swimmers to come together and share their passion for the water.

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William M.

3.3

· 2024 ·

No confirmation email. More signs on roads around the event location would be helpful. Staff were great. No area for friends and family to watch the swimmers. Screen showing entry/ exit only uses glad the screen the rest was for advertising.

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Sarah T.

4.8

· 2024 1 mile ·

This event is so well organised, even though the weather was challenging I still thoroughly enjoyed it, brilliant camaraderie too.

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Laura B.

4.8

· 2024 Up to 1km ·

Fantastic event as always? Support Team were fantastic throughout the weekend.

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Nicola G.

3.9

· 2024 Up to 1km ·

Weather was a bit dubious when we swam at 11.30 on Saturday and our wave was far too big. That is by the far the biggest wave I’ve ever started it and along with the exceptionally windy and choppy water conditions felt that the start was especially dangerous and was kicked and jostled unnecessarily. Waves need to be smaller. It also didn’t help that the boats were passing closely so caused even more waves due to their wake. However, all staff were brilliant as usual!

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Great North Swim