Where does Hever Castle - Swim Series take place?

Hever Castle - Swim Series takes place in Hever, Edenbridge, UK.

What distances does Hever Castle - Swim Series offer?

Entry options include: Mile, 2.5K, 5K.

How is Hever Castle - Swim Series rated by runners?

Hever Castle - Swim Series has an average rating of 4.06 out of 5 from 124 verified participant reviews on Racecheck.

What is Hever Castle - Swim Series like?

Based on participant reviews, runners describe it as: Ideal for beginners (54% of reviews), Large Festival Atmosphere (82% of reviews), Remote Nature (76% of reviews), Lake (97% of reviews).

Hever Castle - Swim Series reviews

Name: Hever Castle - Swim Series
Start: 2026-09-26
End: 2026-09-26
Location: Hever, Edenbridge, UK
Rating: 4.06

Rosemary C.

4.4

· 2026 2.5K ·

Overall great experience, beautiful setting for a swim, well-organised and a lovely day out. Only a few suggestions: 1. More swim cap sizes. Mine was far too small for long hair and kept slipping off throughout the race. 2. Clearer access instructions for people coming on foot fr...

Overall great experience, beautiful setting for a swim, well-organised and a lovely day out. Only a few suggestions: 1. More swim cap sizes. Mine was far too small for long hair and kept slipping off throughout the race. 2. Clearer access instructions for people coming on foot from station. We were initially following car park signs, but were turned around by a marshal who told us to head back to the castle entrance, which was apparently incorrect. 3. Clearer swim course maps. The briefings, maps and video were all very helpful, but suggest the info booklet set out individual maps for the different swim categories (rather than colour coded arrows) and include directions for swimming around different buoys/gates, as a single map wasn't the clearest presentation. But generally really enjoyed the day, thanks!

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Thank you for your lovely feedback! We're delighted you enjoyed the swim and beautiful setting. We do have larger swim hats available at Registration, with signs advising swimmers of this, although we're sorry you weren't aware on the day. We also appreciate your suggestions regarding pedestrian access and clearer swim course maps, and will pass these on to our event team for review. Hope to welcome you back again soon

James S.

3.6

· 2026 2.5K ·

The event was good fun, with a great atmosphere and the staff were friendly and helpful and the commentator was superb. The changing facilities and bag drop were poor. There was an army tent for changing, which was too small and pitch black inside. There was no covered bag area,...

The event was good fun, with a great atmosphere and the staff were friendly and helpful and the commentator was superb. The changing facilities and bag drop were poor. There was an army tent for changing, which was too small and pitch black inside. There was no covered bag area, so if it had rained, our dry clothes and belongings would have got wet. A couple of gazebos would resolve all this! The swim course was overly complicated, with too many buoys. Sitting in a boat, it's probably obvious where to go but at water level, with arms and legs flying about, it was confusing, especially the dog leg left at the Japanese tea house, where it was almost too shallow to swim. I appreciate that water levels are low at the moment but several of the outer buoy areas were very shallow, with thick weed. The above comments are only my personal views and there to help improve the experience for the future. Overall it was a great day, with fab weather, which we thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to next year.

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It's great to hear you had such an enjoyable day, and we'll make sure your lovely comments reach our crew and commentator! Thank you also for your thoughtful suggestions. It's really helpful to hear how the swim course felt from a participant's perspective, alongside your experience of the changing and bag-drop facilities. We'll include these points in our post-event review. We appreciate your constructive feedback and look forward to seeing you again next year

Felipe L.

4.7

· 2026 2.5K ·

Had a great experience doing the 2.5k swim. The location and atmosphere was great. People were helpful and in the afternoon there was a good family vibe (my son doing the kids tri). I'd recommend to other people. One thing to improve is to make the 2.5k swim course less complicat...

Had a great experience doing the 2.5k swim. The location and atmosphere was great. People were helpful and in the afternoon there was a good family vibe (my son doing the kids tri). I'd recommend to other people. One thing to improve is to make the 2.5k swim course less complicated (the 1.5k & 5k were ok).

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Libby L.

3.4

· 2026 5K ·

The grounds are stunning and the festival feel was better than the other events in this series. All the staff and volunteers were friendly and helpful. The swim course was complicated in the fact that the green buoys were too close together. The 3 green in the triangle could hav...

The grounds are stunning and the festival feel was better than the other events in this series. All the staff and volunteers were friendly and helpful. The swim course was complicated in the fact that the green buoys were too close together. The 3 green in the triangle could have been a different colour as I got confused with the other green ones and going through the two different red gates!! I hadn’t expected to receive more than my medal, so was thrilled to be awarded a 1st place position. Although very appreciative of the extra “goodies”the discount for a race next year is great but the rest was really for triathletes so I won’t be using them, sadly. It would be good to know why the price of a spectator fee ranges so much at the series’s events. £16 for this event did seem rather high.

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Mark M.

4.9

· 2026 5K ·

Great event! Staff were fantastic. Commentator was outstanding. Here for the swim but watched a lot of the other racing and really enjoyed the day. Live music, lots of food. Lake swim was good. A bit shallow at the edges, but it’s been a very hot summer! Well organised and will ...

Great event! Staff were fantastic. Commentator was outstanding. Here for the swim but watched a lot of the other racing and really enjoyed the day. Live music, lots of food. Lake swim was good. A bit shallow at the edges, but it’s been a very hot summer! Well organised and will definitely be doing it again. Thank youZ

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Graham S.

4.3

· 2026 Mile ·

Enjoyable race with a great atmosphere and decent organisation. The staff were extremely friendly. The tented ‘village’ was lovely and family friendly. I loved the two musicians on the stage, who were talented and worked so hard all day. The event announcer was excellent too. My ...

Enjoyable race with a great atmosphere and decent organisation. The staff were extremely friendly. The tented ‘village’ was lovely and family friendly. I loved the two musicians on the stage, who were talented and worked so hard all day. The event announcer was excellent too. My only criticism related to the lake experience. The water looked dirty with a surface scum, it was extremely shallow especially in the dog-leg section out past the pagoda, where my hands scooped up mud and I swam through weed. The left turn past the pagoda was hard to sight and several swimmers turned to early and were forced back by the kayakers, leading to some chaos and confusion. This is the second year this has been a feature. Having said all of this I loved my day and this swim comes highly recommended, especially if this feedback is acted on. Thank you Castle Series staff!

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Tomas M.

2.0

· 2026 2.5K ·

The check in was relatively smooth. The changing facilities and bag drop were very poor. The swim course is unnecessarily complicated and takes you through water that is too shallow to swim effectively. The medal is nice but the swag for winning was not great, free entry to...

The check in was relatively smooth. The changing facilities and bag drop were very poor. The swim course is unnecessarily complicated and takes you through water that is too shallow to swim effectively. The medal is nice but the swag for winning was not great, free entry to next years event is a nice touch but the rest are just leaflets for companies. The cost for spectators is ridiculous. Completely unnecessary to charge so much to watch an event.

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Harriet P.

4.0

· 2026 Mile ·

Great atmosphere and venue! Great swim really enjoyed it but some tweaks needed. As a mile swimmer it was also very difficult when we met up with the other distances quite quickly as it was very busy. The top of the course was hard to navigate and left a lot of swimmers confused ...

Great atmosphere and venue! Great swim really enjoyed it but some tweaks needed. As a mile swimmer it was also very difficult when we met up with the other distances quite quickly as it was very busy. The top of the course was hard to navigate and left a lot of swimmers confused on which red marker to turn right at when we didn’t have to do the small loop. Also as it’s so muddy a shower block would have been ideal or just somewhere to hose off. I had also cut my leg and the paramedics at the swim didn’t come over and I couldn’t find them so had to walk a way to the medical tent still wet. Overall a great day though and will definitely come back!

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Isobel H.

4.6

· 2026 5K ·

The pre race information and briefing were very thorough. All the staff were incredibly friendly and the marshals on the course were outstanding in making sure I wasn't going the wrong way (I did try). I had one minor incident where one of the 2.5km swimmers started swimming on ...

The pre race information and briefing were very thorough. All the staff were incredibly friendly and the marshals on the course were outstanding in making sure I wasn't going the wrong way (I did try). I had one minor incident where one of the 2.5km swimmers started swimming on the wrong side of the bouys straight towards me not looking where they were going which was a little difficult to navigate. The water was also a little shallow in places and murky but I guess not a lot can be done about that. Could also have done with a second person helping people get out at the end. Other than that a lovely event, great atmosphere and really enjoyable. Commentary was excellent.

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Nik f.

3.1

· 2026 5K ·

Very Nice people organising the swim. .fine swim. Lots of support on water. Nice day out. Constructive feedback: Bag drop is way too far from lake for skins swimmers. And car park far too. (If I’d known I would have organised myself differently.)Route a bit fussy, kayakers...

Very Nice people organising the swim. .fine swim. Lots of support on water. Nice day out. Constructive feedback: Bag drop is way too far from lake for skins swimmers. And car park far too. (If I’d known I would have organised myself differently.)Route a bit fussy, kayakers were fine but could have done with more simple hand gesture system to guide people or the route just made simpler. Too many people on the course. Waves more spread out would work better. Expensive spectator tickets. No one to help At feed station so I had to climb out of water and onto the steps, just to get a glass of water. Also it’s about 100m off course. (There and back)

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Hever Castle - Swim Series