Boundary Water Park (USwim) Wild Swimming

Boundary Water Park is USwim’s Cheshire lake at London Road, Allostock CW4 8HT, sister site to Dock 9 at Salford Quays. Seasonal. The 2026 outdoor programme ran 4 April to 20 September. Courses 200m, 450m and 800m, plus a dipping area. Length open depends on temperature and staffing. You go because you can turn up, pay on the day, and stay in as long as the session lasts. You also go knowing it is not year-round, and three Sundays in 2026 were dark: 10 May, 12 July, 2 August.

Getting in

May–August: Sundays 10:00–13:00 (online closes Saturday 17:00) and Thursdays 17:00–19:30. Thursday online close is 10:00 on the FAQs and 12:00 on the swims page — SiEntries is the clock that matters. September: Sundays 10:00–12:00 only. Bookings open from the beginning of March.

Members pre-booked: £7 adult, £5 Squid (7–15). Family (two adults, three children) £20. Non-member day pass pre-booked: £10 / £8 / family £30. Pay-on-day: £12 adult, £8 aged 7–15, £5 under-7s. SiEntries adds a booking fee; that is why the ticket screen shows £7.60. No refunds, no transfers. If you booked wrong, they will not answer the email.

Gold membership £325: Dock 9 or Boundary, no pre-book. Bronze £12.50: discounted pre-book. Squid £10. Forget to pre-book as a member and you pay pay-on-day. Write the 2026 membership number on your hand. No number, no swim. Pay-on-day get a number at the cabin.

The swim

No time limit inside the session. Bright cap or tow float; both sold on site. Tow float compulsory for children, newbies, and anything 750m+. Wetsuit hire first-come: adults £10 plus £20 cash deposit; 7–15 £5 plus £15. Powerboat or kayak at most sessions, first-aid land crew. Water quality tested to EU bathing standards. Surface temperature 18°C on 23 August 2026 — a reading, not a promise.

15s and under may swim without a chaperone in the water if they are competent. 7 and under need a 16+ adult in the water. Changing in the cabin; toilets there too. Free parking on the service road by the swim area; if full, the road. Bike racking in the swim area. Bring almost nothing. Staff will not hold your keys. If you need an inhaler or hypo treatment in the water, take it in the float; otherwise a named waterproof bag with staff.

Introduction sessions exist for first-timers. Caps, goggles, earplugs and body-glide are sold. Coaching runs through the summer. Events — Boundary Park Tri and Aquabike, Greater Manchester Swim, solstice night swim — sit on a different booking.

Worth knowing

It is a summer USwim operation, not a winter members’ quarry. Dock 9 is the other USwim pin if you want Salford instead of Allostock. Same operator, different water, different hours. The Mere Swim Place in Knutsford is listed as a third USwim venue; do not put that postcode in the satnav for Boundary. If you want a Cheshire wellness farm with SUP safety rather than a race-prep lake, The Farm Club at Pickmere is the other North West listing.