Ellingham Open Water Swim Wild Swimming

Ellingham is a spring-fed waterski lake at Ellingham Drove, Blashford, Ringwood BH24 3PJ, in the New Forest. Ellingham Water Ski & Wakeboard Club run the swim. Yellow buoys mark 400m, 750m and 1200m. Three lifeguards when the whole lake is open: one on the dock, two on paddleboards. You go because Hampshire has a NOWCA lake with a 1200m loop and water they keep calling clean, and because you can book it. You also go knowing boats own the rest of the day. Swim only in the booked sessions. The club is blunt: boats on the lake all day.

Getting in

NOWCA membership is £20 a year. Book on ACTiO. Sessions for the week drop on Monday from 12:30 (club) / 13:00 (kscan). Pre-booked swim is £8, or £75 for ten. Club page visitor trials: email swim@ellinghamwaterski.co.uk, turn up in the session, pay £10 cash, no Actio slot required. After a couple of goes they want you on NOWCA. Red-band members get priority if there is a queue.

2026 season opened Saturday 4/5 April. Saturday 06:30–08:30. Monday 17:30–19:30, including bank holidays. Wednesday 06:15–08:00 from 20 May 2026; the club page on 25 August said Wednesdays had closed from the end of August. If Wednesday is not on ACTiO the week before, it is not on. Low numbers and they drop the 1200m.

Under-16s need an adult in the water. No published lower age on the club page; they ask you to be sensible about the child you bring. Bright hat. Wetsuit recommended; skins means a tow float you bring yourself. They sell hats and floats for cash at check-in. Band from the person on the clubhouse veranda. Lose it and they charge.

The swim

A ski lake, not a beach. Clockwise or however they brief it on the yellow loops. Short dip or the whole two hours; they say both are fine. Water temperature on 11 August 2026 was 25.1°C at 12:30. If air is over 30°C and water over 21°C they do not want you in a wetsuit. That is a heat warning, not an invitation to overheat.

Lifeguards in radio contact. Short-staffed and they close the 1200m. Coaching exists: beginners around 17:40 and intermediate 18:30 on Mondays, plus private work, booked through swim@ellinghamwaterski.co.uk. Will and Candice, not a walk-up.

Free car park. Park tight, do not block the track, do not leave the car after the session unless a lifeguard says so — they lock the gates. Saturday you need to be off site by 09:00 when skiing starts; Wednesday by 08:15; Monday by 19:40. Overflow outside the main gates is allowed if you do not block the nature-reserve entrance.

Worth knowing

You are borrowing a ski club’s water for two hours. Miss the window and you are not swimming, even if the lake looks empty. NOWCA band every time: tap in, tap out. Guests get a temporary band and hand it back.

It is a New Forest early start, not a day ticket. If you want a PAYG gravel lake you can book any afternoon, this is the wrong Hampshire. Saturday 06:30 is the main session. Bring a bright hat. Do not bring a dog in a hot car.