Shepperton Open Water Swim Wild Swimming

Shepperton Open Water Swim is a family-run lake at Ferris Meadow, Ferry Lane, TW17 9LH, using the Desborough Sailing Club entrance. Two marked courses, 400m and 750m. Booking only. Adult venue. You go because it is a dedicated open-water lake on the edge of London, cash-simple, with an induction and a swim test before they let you loose, and because the 2026 summer season is actually running. You do not go for a leisure-centre changing room. They call the set-up rustic: outdoor showers, toilets, get changed in the open. No booking, no swim. They mean it.

Getting in

New swimmers email info@sheppertonopenwaterswim.co.uk or message Facebook / Instagram with a date, full name and email. Induction is a few minutes of lake rules plus a swim test — about 150m, watched, until they are sure you are competent in open water. Homepage says that first visit includes the hour after. Advice page says tests run through the session and you do not need a separate test booking. Both are theirs. Email first; do not just arrive.

Once you have passed (inductions since 2020 still count), you book and pay on the Wellness Living Achieve app, or the browser login with the same email. Health declaration annually, before you swim.

£6 a session, cash. They cannot take cards for the swim. Bright hat is compulsory; £5 cash on site if you have not got one. Wetsuit hire is Zone 3 / Triton Outdoors, from £20, card accepted, no Amex. Tow float is required if you are in skins or not in a swim-specific wetsuit. Goggles advised, not compulsory.

Summer 2026 hours on the homepage: Mon / Wed / Fri 17:00–20:00; Sat / Sun 07:00–11:00. Tuesdays and Thursdays shut. Last entry 30 minutes before close. The separate opening-times page still shows a Sunday-only 08:30–10:30 grid and a winter-closed note — that looks stale against the “Open for Summer 2026” timetable. Use the homepage, and expect hours to shrink as dusk comes in. They usually open in May and close September/October, water around 12°C to start. Gates lock about half an hour after close. Do not leave a car and go for a walk.

The swim

400m and 750m loops, placed so the safety team can see you. It is a nature-conservation lake. They want you to share it with what lives there, not thrash it. Coaching exists if you want technique; under-18s only swim with their coach, and they may ask for proof of age. Minimum age on the booking copy is 18 for unaccompanied adults.

Ferris Fuel Station does food and drink when they are open. Outdoor mains showers. On-site parking, bike racks (bring a lock). Dogs on a lead; waste off site with you. Children can be on site with an adult; they cannot just hop in.

Worth knowing

Ferris Meadow is private. No access outside session hours. The opening-times page still shows a winter Sunday-only grid; the homepage is the 2026 summer timetable. Trust the homepage until they update the other one.

It is not a kids’ lake and not a winter venue. Cash in the pocket, hat on the head, induction done. If you want a NOWCA wristband and a 1000m course instead, Swim Heron at Wraysbury is the other South East pin. If you want a turquoise reservoir loop with a winter members’ slot, that is Divers Cove. Shepperton is the Ferris Meadow hour, booked, £6, two buoys, and a test on day one.