When is Hever Castle - Swim Series?

The next edition of Hever Castle - Swim Series takes place on 26 September 2026.

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 4.09 out of 5 from 111 verified participant reviews on Racecheck.

What is Hever Castle - Swim Series like?

Based on participant reviews, runners describe it as: Ideal for beginners (73% of reviews), Large Festival Atmosphere (93% of reviews), Remote Nature (67% of reviews), Lake (96% 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: 4.09

Clayton S.

4.6

· 2025 2.5km ·

My first international open water swim and I loved every minute of it. The event is incredibly well run, the staff working were super friendly and helpful. Facilities were decent and the atmosphere was upbeat and fun. Definitely want to come back and do all the races in the serie...

My first international open water swim and I loved every minute of it. The event is incredibly well run, the staff working were super friendly and helpful. Facilities were decent and the atmosphere was upbeat and fun. Definitely want to come back and do all the races in the series!

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Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled you loved your first international open water swim with us and felt supported by our friendly team. It’s great to hear you enjoyed the atmosphere and facilities too — we’d be delighted to welcome you back to experience more races in the series!

Anna P.

5.0

· 2025 Mile ·

Amazing course and support, everything was top-notch. Can’t wait to race again next year!

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Thank you for your kind words — we’re delighted you enjoyed the course and felt well supported throughout! It’s great to hear everything hit the mark, and we can’t wait to welcome you back next year.

Stephany A.

1.7

· 2025 5km ·

I'm so proud that I completed my 5km swim, my first ever however the experience was nothing like of Blenheim Palace or other events I've been to. Check in was great however there were no water points around the event site AT ALL, even the information tent said I'd have to buy a t...

I'm so proud that I completed my 5km swim, my first ever however the experience was nothing like of Blenheim Palace or other events I've been to. Check in was great however there were no water points around the event site AT ALL, even the information tent said I'd have to buy a tiny bottle from a catering van which was really disappointing. No suncream either or directions to a medical tent. Drinking water and a big clear sign in the event village surely should be absolutely essential. The lake water quality was awful and the worst I've been in after 3 months of training in wild swimming and reservoir spots I don't know how the quality was deemed good enough. I couldn't see my hands and arms underwater and there were huge branches on the course which could've been pulled/dredged out or atleast have markers or a sign with arrows to know which way was safest to swim around. The course was quite frankly poorly organised. Most of the course you keep the buoys to your right but some hand to be on your left and there were no arrows. During the briefing they didn't mention how the people in kayaks would direct us (they banged on they're Kayak with their paddles to get our attention) so many ignored, then they cut you up when paddling across the course and I saw at least three people swim into their kayaks which looked very painful. It was chaos in the centre part of the course they must improve this. I mixed my swim with 50m breastrokes after every 500m front crawl to preserve my energy as its an endurance race and kayakers got worried about me which was frustrating, it's just how I swim. On my last lap one stayed with me but was 2m away next to me, sometimes in front which really found overwhelming and pressurising. I wanted to enjoy my challenge and not be angry, I had to shout at him to keep his distance and he was grumpy rather than encouring to say you can do it - he probably needed some lunch but that really affected my last lap when I was trying to keep positive so that I could finish strong. When I finished someone kindly helped me up the ramp but it was carpet and slippy, not the rubbery hole mats that other events use - I recommend you invest in these as much safer. In the briefing there was no mention of a photographer and what to do at the end so sadly missed my photo opportunity and a friend had to break the barrier for me to get out. No member of staff was there to congratulate me or give me my medal or drink. I had to dig it out the box, I was last but only by 10 minutes and was really gutted and disheartening. No foil blankets either and noticed these at the finish line for the runners, why not the swimmers in 12C water? Thankfully i had spectators to help me but it wouldve been a much more awful experiencewithout them. Not inclusive at all. There was also mention of a water/feeding station on the course (I even emailed to confirm prior) and there was nothing. Spending over 2 hours in water swimming with no fuel station is so dangerous and uninclusive when the cyclists and runners get one. Even the kayaks didn't have anything to offer. I'm so proud of my achievement to complete 5k in 12C water but the management of it all on the day was shocking and wouldn't recommend it to those who are wanting to do a big challenge and focus on finish line not finish time.

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Thank you for sharing such a detailed review and huge congratulations on completing your first 5km swim — that’s an incredible achievement, particularly in challenging conditions. We’re truly sorry that your experience on the day didn’t meet expectations and we really appreciate you taking the time to outline where we fell short. We’re glad to hear check-in went smoothly, but we fully acknowledge the concerns you’ve raised around on-site facilities, water availability, course clarity, and post-race support. Signage and a visible medical point should be clearly available to all participants, and we’ll ensure these are prioritised and communicated better next season. While there was a water point available on site, it’s clear that it wasn’t well signed or communicated — we agree this needs to be much clearer in future, both in pre-event briefings and to staff on the day. We’ll also be reviewing our safety team briefings, the layout of the swim course and buoy markings, and how we support and recognise every finisher — including medal presentation, post-swim care, and finish-line experience — so that all participants, regardless of their pace or position, feel equally valued and supported.

Yannick O.

4.8

· 2025 2.5km ·

Positives: - Registration was quick and easy. - Race Director was happy to answer any/all questions (including explaining the course more than once!), helped with my wetsuit and you could feel his excitement/support for all athletes competing. - The event village commentator/M...

Positives: - Registration was quick and easy. - Race Director was happy to answer any/all questions (including explaining the course more than once!), helped with my wetsuit and you could feel his excitement/support for all athletes competing. - The event village commentator/MC was easily the best one I’ve experienced all summer, very good indeed. - Great spread at the end of the swim! - I entered quite late on (about a week before) but didn’t have to chase for information, had all the knowledge I needed before attending the swim. Negatives: - The gap between the 2.5km and the mile swim was probably too small, by the time we’d done our 400m turn and swim out to make it a 1.7km swim, the mile swimmers were amongst us for the shallower section of the course at the top end of the lake. Made it a little busy in a difficult part of the course, but maybe that’s just open water swimming! - Not really the race organisers fault as it’s barely rained all summer but it was very shallow in parts and I was scraping the bottom of the lake in my pull, I’m 6ft with not particularly long arms so can imagine a few others had a similar experience! Maybe stick to the deeper sections of the lake and do smaller laps? Would be a little more boring but at least you can swim it properly? Overall I had a fun weekend swimming on the Saturday and Triathlon-ing on the Sunday, the organisers, MC, photographers, marshalls etc we’re all fantastic, friendly and very supportive!

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Thank you for such a thoughtful and detailed review — we’re delighted to hear you had a great weekend taking part in both the swim and triathlon, and really appreciate your kind words about our team, Race Director, MC, and event village atmosphere. It’s great to know the pre-race information and registration process worked smoothly, and we’re pleased you enjoyed the post-swim spread too! Your feedback on the overlap between swim distances and the shallow sections of the course is very helpful — we’ll review the timing and layout for future editions to help minimise congestion and make better use of the deeper areas where possible. Thank you again for joining us across the weekend and for your constructive comments — we hope to welcome you back next season.

Tomas M.

2.3

· 2025 2.5 ·

Nice event, could have been better organised for the swim, not sure if it is more setup for triathlon and swim only entrants are a bit of an afterthought.

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Thank you for joining us and for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re pleased to hear you enjoyed the event overall, and we appreciate your comments regarding the swim. While our swim series runs alongside the triathlons, multisport and run series, we’re keen to ensure they receive equal focus and a smooth experience from start to finish. We’ll review the setup and on-the-day logistics to make sure swim series participants feel fully supported and clearly guided throughout. Thank you again for your input — it helps us continue improving for future events.

David N.

4.5

· 2025 5km ·

My first open water event and it went well. Logistics and organisation were excellent. I was concerned about water quality given feedback on previous events so I was checking the sewage map website regularly for upstream discharge data in the weeks leading up to the event. Thankf...

My first open water event and it went well. Logistics and organisation were excellent. I was concerned about water quality given feedback on previous events so I was checking the sewage map website regularly for upstream discharge data in the weeks leading up to the event. Thankfully the three weeks prior were clear and I was reassured by the water testing certificates shared on the organisers website. On the day, the main worry I had was the water temperature. At 14 degrees it was right at the limit of what I could tolerate, even with a wetsuit. That said, 10 minutes in I had adjusted and it didn’t bother me. As to how it might improve, I have three suggestions; 1/ larger swim caps please. The one provided was small and tight, I tried to wear two caps and couldn’t. People with longer hair struggled. 2/ the course is overly complicated at the shallow end of the lake. It’s hard enough swimming with lots of other people in the water, never mind having to turn 8 times every lap. The water was only 3 foot deep in places. Better would be a 500m there and back in the deepest water and do it 10 times. 3/ please use a RIB with an electric outboard. I was breathing in fumes at times which was unpleasant. The suggestions I hope are potential improvements to what was a very well organised event.

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Thank you for taking the time to share such detailed feedback and for joining us for your first open water event — we’re delighted to hear it went well overall and that the logistics and organisation met your expectations. We’re glad our published water quality testing helped provide reassurance ahead of the race, and we’ll continue to prioritise transparency and regular testing for all our venues. Your suggestions are extremely helpful — we’ll review the sizing of our swim caps for future events, explore options to simplify the shallow section of the course where possible, and consider electric outboards for support craft to further enhance the experience. We really appreciate your considered input and hope to welcome you back next season.

Hayley G.

4.5

· 2023 2.5K ·

Beautiful location for a swim and lovely to check out Hever castle. Bags were not monitored by staff. I started to feel sick during the swim and have had awful vomitting as a result (I swim at a lake weekly and haven't been sick from it before). I think the event organisers could...

Beautiful location for a swim and lovely to check out Hever castle. Bags were not monitored by staff. I started to feel sick during the swim and have had awful vomitting as a result (I swim at a lake weekly and haven't been sick from it before). I think the event organisers could have mitigated sickness by avoiding the shallower parts of the lake and providing somewhere to shower or at least wash our hands after the race/before eating food at the lake exit. The toilets provided for the event were awful. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a photo of me from the event and would have liked to have one from crossing the finish line. The medal is really nice but would have been nice to have the distance I'd completed on it, or the option to personalise it at the event. Overall I enjoyed the event at the time, but not the sickness I experienced afterwards. I think health and safety could be much improved for the swim.

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Hayley, thank you for your feedback. I am sorry to hear you are unwell. Please log your experience by emailing us at support@castleraceseries.com so we can make a note of this. - Castle Race Series

Sam C.

1.7

· 2023 5K ·

I did the 5km swim at Hever with a friend - we are both now severely sick with fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. Do not swim at this venue. I have completed many open water swim events and have never swum in such murky water and been made so ill. The water was murky and brown, an...

I did the 5km swim at Hever with a friend - we are both now severely sick with fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. Do not swim at this venue. I have completed many open water swim events and have never swum in such murky water and been made so ill. The water was murky and brown, and the course took you out of the main lake into areas of dense foliage where I got a lot of duck mite bites. The marshals were kind, chatty and wanted to be helpful, but appeared to have not been briefed well (not knowing meaning of different hat colours for different lengths etc). Overall it felt like the event was overstretched running both triathlons and swim events simultaneously. This meant that pre race briefing was really confusing as much of the info was not relevant to swimmers, but that was not at all clear and confused a lot of people (eg wetsuit rules only applying to triathletes, day licence requirements). separate briefing info for swimmers and triathletes would be more helpful. We were directed to the triathlete bag drop which was a fair walk to the lake - as we were skins swimmers, this wasn’t ideal. When we exited we were told there was a bag drop at the lake but that the marshals weren’t telling anyone about it. For skins swimmers who had done 5km in 16 deg water, being able to access towels etc as soon as we exited the lake would have been preferable. I won’t be doing this event again and will warn others to avoid swimming at Hever.

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Sam, Thanks for your comments. I am sorry to hear you had a negative experience with us. We would really appreciate it if you could log your comments with us via emailing support@castleraceseries.com We are taking this feedback extremely seriously. - Castle Race Series

Helen E.

3.9

· 2023 5K ·

My friend and I signed up to the 5k as a challenge. Race day was ok on the whole, all the marshals and assistants were super helpful and the medal is brilliant! I have a few quibbles though - I don’t think there were enough signs from the far car parks to the lake/race registr...

My friend and I signed up to the 5k as a challenge. Race day was ok on the whole, all the marshals and assistants were super helpful and the medal is brilliant! I have a few quibbles though - I don’t think there were enough signs from the far car parks to the lake/race registration, we almost got lost a few times. Registration was easy and quick though (we were in a rush as traffic held us up even though we left plenty of time) and directed through to bag drop. HOWEVER, we weren’t told that there was also somewhere to drop things near the lake so my friend and I (who weren’t swimming in wetsuits) traipsed all the way down to the lake barefoot in our cossies- and obvs also had to do that after the swim, freezing cold. It would be good to know there is somewhere to leave dry robe/flip flops near the lake. The briefing was good and I understood the course but the swim hats were far too small and mine kept slipping off which interfered with my goggles fit - very annoying! The lake water was rather murky and sludgy, there were lots of lily pads and weeds to swim through at one point which was a bit grim. The marshals were AMAZING, so kind and helpful they were brilliant and deserve a shout out! Unfortunately my friend who also swam, and I were very ill on the Sunday night/Mon morning which might be a coincidence but seems as though others have also been ill. Maybe there could be more stringent testing of the water beforehand? It was very hard to find the water testing information in advance of the swim. It’s also a shame that we don’t appear in any of the photos, maybe only the fast people get photographed? Well I think we’re winners for doing the 5k in skins 🙌🏻.

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Helen, Thanks for your comments. It is helpful for us to look to improve our future events. - Castle Race Series

Andrew C.

2.6

· 2023 2.5K ·

I have been extremely sick after swimming in Hever lake, I understand this has happened to quite a few competitors, the water seemed filthy

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Andrew, We can assure you rigorous water testing is completed prior and leading up to the event. We would like to log your experience so please email us at support@castleraceseries.com - Castle Race Series

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Hever Castle - Swim Series