Capernwray Diving Centre Wild Swimming

Capernwray is a flooded limestone quarry — Jackdaw Quarry — off M6 junction 35 at Carnforth. Unusually clear, cold freshwater. A marked loop of about 500m. Underwater boats and aircraft you can see on a good day. You share the water with scuba divers. Café, changing, showers, parking, quarry walls that photograph well. You go because the North West actually has a commercial quarry swim you can drive to, with a day pass and a café, instead of a trespass pit and a “no swimming” sign. It is deep, it is cold, and it is not a family paddling beach. If that sounds like your Saturday, it is the one.

Getting in

Operating in 2026. Non-members: swimming day pass £14, or £12 if you book online. Members: a 2-year swimming membership at £40, then £8 on entry. Book the cheaper day pass online if you are not committing to two years.

Typical hours: Tuesday to Friday 10:00–17:00, Wednesday until 21:00, Saturday and Sunday 09:00–17:00. Monday closed, except bank holidays. Confirm opening times before you buy a day pass. Hours are typical, not a promise, and a closed Monday will ruin a bank-holiday-weekend plan if you get the days wrong.

Timed swims and championships also run. Capernwray Swimming Championships are listed for 16 September 2026. Event days are not a quiet lap session. Coaching is available on site through Swim & Paddle if you want that rather than a free swim.

Bring whatever you swim in, a towel, and something warm. No tow-float or hat rule is posted. You are still getting in a deep, cold quarry. Dress for that.

The swim

Gin-clear on a good day, which is why people drive here. Marked loop of about 500m. They do not publish a depth figure. Treat it as deep water you cannot stand up in. Underwater attractions (boats, aircraft) sit below you. Divers are in the same water, with bubbles and props. Watch for them. They are the reason the site exists.

Café, changing, showers, parking. Photographable quarry walls. It is a dive centre that lets swimmers in, not a lido with a diving board. Cold freshwater, limestone, clear. You will feel the temperature even in summer. There is no “summer hits 25°C” line here.

I would not bring someone who wants a gentle first dip. This is a loop in a working quarry. First-timers who can already swim open water will be fine. People who need shallows and a beach entry will not.

Worth knowing

You are sharing a deep quarry with divers. Bubbles, underwater props, people below you. Stay on the swim loop. Cold, deep water. Not a paddling beach, not a kids’ splash session, not a picnic bank.

Monday closed, except bank holidays. Confirm times before a day-pass booking. Championships and timed swims will change the feel of the day — 16 September 2026 is one of those. If you want a quiet 500m, pick another date.

Not a family paddling beach. If that is the Saturday you wanted, pick another venue.

Karl and Ali / Capernwray Diving Centre / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons / Geograph.