Kendal Pride: Plunge with Pride
Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor
Kendal Pride is back with an action packed programme for 2024. On the more extreme end of the spectrum, you can enter into the spirit of the weekend by joining plunge with pride, a celebratory (if slightly chilly) queer dip in the waters of Lake Windermere. Whether you’re trying to shake the after effects from the previous evening’s activities or you’re curious about trying wild swimming for the first time in a queer and body positive environment, it’s a great way to enter the water knowing you’re supported by a bunch of like minded people.
The plunge will be led by a group of experienced open water swimmers. Let them show you how joyful this experience can be as you reinvigorate your body and immerse yourself, in the most literal sense, in nature. There’s now a wealth of information on the benefits of plunging into lakes and (non-polluted) rivers. It can massively affect your mental health as well as providing the short term physical benefits of being a brilliant way to start your day and long term benefits of boosting your immune systems and creating proteins in your brain that can prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia.
There’s no need to book, you simply need to turn up with your swimwear and towel. There will be changing facilities on site and refreshments available from Windermere Jetty Museum after leaving the water.
The event is definitely more of a dip than a swim. It’s open to swimmers of all abilities and is designed to celebrate the community around wild swimming in an act of shared joy, rather than being an athletic challenge. Getting in the water is a challenge in itself and is more than enough!
There are so many more events taking place over the weekend of Kendal Pride. With cabaret shows, drum circles, film screenings, runs, balls and a dog show there’s so much more to discover via the Kendal Pride website.
