Chillswim Coniston End to End Swim 2026 will take place on Saturday 20th June. Long distance swimming isn’t just about being in the water, it’s about the journey. Travelling the length of a lake from one end to the other gives the swim meaning. You haven’t swum a lake until you have completed the full length of it.
Chillswim Coniston is a unique swim with a highly experienced management, medical & water safety team, that is fully supported on the full 5.25 mile length of Coniston Water in the Lake District. There are 7 separate start times based on your mile pace to give you the best experience possible and, as always, the swim is wetsuit optional.
ENTRY FEE (click on ENTER NOW above to Enter):
General Entry = £109 per swimmer
Charity Entry = £39 per swimmer with LEVEL WATER (suggested fundraising target £250)
Level Water use the power of swimming to improve lives for children with disabilities.
Opting for a charity place will raise money and use the power of swimming to help fund specialist, 1-1 lessons for children with disabilities across the UK because we believe everyone should have the opportunity to learn to swim and fall in love with the water.
INCLUDED with the ENTRY FEE:
• Transport to the Start and from the Finish back to the Race HQ & Event Car Park at John Ruskin School in Coniston
• Professional water safety team supporting the swim
• Four feed stations along the route providing energy drinks & jelly babies!
• Chillswim Coniston silicone event swim hat
• Free parking on race day for participants
• Chillswim Coniston event medal for each participant
• Age Group Trophies for wetsuit & non-wetsuit categories
START LIST
To view the 2026 Start List including Swim Waves CLICK HERE
SPECTATOR BOAT – the National Trust Steam Yacht Gondola – CLICK HERE to book your place, be quick! (coming soon for 2026)
There will be 3 sailings to choose from and each sailing lasts around 1 hour. Pick your sailing time and sail down to the bottom end of the lake and back on the famous National Trust Gondola. The sailing will allow you to get up close and personal with your swimmer so you can cheer them on as they head up the lake. Places are limited to ensure that all spectators get a good view of the swimmers and bookings for 2026 are available HERE (coming soon for 2026)
ROUTE:
The route starts at the Southern end of the lake and finishes at the very Northern tip next to Monk Coniston Car Park.
After the first mile swimmers will keep within approximately 50 metres of the shore and event mile marker buoys and support watercraft will direct swimmers.
MANDATORY TOW FLOATS:
You must wear a swim tow-float/dry bag for this event. Please note that the entry fee does not include a tow-float.
FEED STATIONS:
There will be four boat-based feed stations along the route near to the shore roughly every mile of the swim with water, High 5 energy drink and Bassetts jelly babies.
HOW DOES THE EVENT WORK?
Here are a few tips on how the event flows and what to expect:
- Arrive at Event HQ at John Ruskin School in Coniston either the evening before or the morning of the swim and we’ll give you your race pack with swim hat, timing chip, and wrist band for your allocated bus shuttle time.
- Wetsuit swimmers can get changed at Event HQ with baggage storage available.
- Non wetsuit swimmers take their bag with them to the start, with baggage transport to the finish.
- You board the bus according to your event start time (based on your predicted mile pace).
- We have a large marquee at the start for shade (!) or rain and a relaxed atmosphere to prepare you for your full length of lake swim. A full event briefing is given to you at the start of the swim.
- As you set off, water safety kayakers and support boats are there to look out for, and support, you.
- Mile markers are positioned to help guide you down the lake with feed stations starting at mile 1.5.
- You can stop for a drink at the feed stations or swim past and continue on your swim for the 5.25 miles.
- At the finish, your medal is placed around your neck, a warm drink awaits and buses are on hand to shuttle you back to Event HQ.
- Non wetsuit swimmers can change at the finish area and wetsuit swimmers can use the changing rooms and showers at Event HQ.
- Although this really event is about taking part and completing the journey, we do have prizes for the fastest in each age group for both wetsuit and non-wetsuit swimmers.
WHAT WAVE SHOULD I SELECT WHEN I ENTER?
The entry system asks swimmers to select a Wave Start Group based on Mile Swim Pace – if you do not know already then please go to the swimming pool and time yourself swimming for 1 Mile (1 Mile = 1600 metres or 64 lengths in a standard 25 metre pool or 32 lengths in a 50 meter pool) this will then give you a good indication of what pace you will be able to sustain over the entire swim but please bear in mind the maximum pace that we require for swimmers to be capable of over the full 5.25 mile swim is 65mins per mile.
Many swimmers tend to underestimate their Mile Swim Pace to ‘play it safe’ which can create problems in the first half of the event as all swimmers initially start the swim in a wave and the water safety team cannot move away from the wave for individual swimmers who have underestimated their pace (deliberately or otherwise) and are swimming faster than the other swimmers around them. In simple terms, if swimmers select a Wave which is too slow for their ability it is likely that the swimmer will be asked by the water safety team to slow down in the early part of the race and their finish time will be affected. The event is designed in a way that the waves start to merge once swimmers get towards halfway and it is then less of an issue but please try to estimate an accurate mile pace that can be sustained for the full distance and select an appropriate Wave.
If you need to change your Mile Time before the event then simply log back into the entry system at https://www.resultsbase.net then go to ‘My Area’ and ‘ Tickets’ then find the relevant Ticket for your entry and go to ‘Changes’ and ‘Change Distance/Wave’ n.b. Waves can be amended unto 1 month prior to the event but after this time they are locked down.
On the day the more relaxed pace swimmers (65 min/Mile Time) start first and approximately every 20-30 mins a slightly faster paced group will enter the water.
Swimmers will have a much better experience during the swim if selecting a Wave appropriate to their accurate Mile Swim Pace and will then be grouped correctly.
WHAT TIME DOES THE EVENT FINISH?
Swimmers will arrive at the finish between around midday and 3pm on Saturday and prize giving will be held as soon as possible after the last swimmer is out of the water, back at the event HQ
IS THERE AN AGE LIMIT?
Competitors must be a minimum of 16 years old on the day of the event. There is no upper age limit.
IS THERE A CUT OFF TIME?
We have a cut-off swim time of 65 minutes per mile, so with the staggered starts we expect the last swimmer will be out of the water by approx. 2.30 pm. With the sweep boat making sure that everyone is out of the water by 3pm, which is normally plenty of time for even the most relaxed swimmers taking in the view and having a chat!
WHEN DOES REGISTRATION OPEN?
Registration will be open on Friday evening from 1730 – 2030 hrs, and on Saturday morning from 0700 hrs, to allow the early swimmers chance to register on either day.
Important – please do not arrive at Race HQ to register before these times. It is a working school and cannot have unauthorised visitors on site whilst school is open.
CAN I SWIM WITH A FRIEND?
If you and your friend swim at the same speed and you have added the same estimated pace into the registration system, then you will be placed in the same start group. However, we recommend that you don’t try to compromise your own pace to swim with a friend. We have found that inevitably one person is faster than the other, which can be frustrating for you and cause the faster swimmer to get cold waiting for the other swimmer.
COMPETITOR RACE DAY INFORMATION:
2026 Competitor Information Document can be viewed by CLICKING HERE (coming soon)
2026 Start List with wave allocation can be viewed by CLICKING HERE
