Swanborough Lakes Wild Swimming

Swanborough Lakes is a secluded swim lake on the Iford Estate, just outside Lewes, with South Downs views. Nomadic Sauna run the wood-fired lakeside sauna and the lifeguarded wild-swim slots. Changing rooms, a cold-water shower, a toilet. You go because East Sussex has a bookable lake-and-sauna hour that is actually open to the public, not only lodge guests. You also go knowing the get-in is a ladder, the walk from the car is a rough track, and if you are under 16 you are not in the water.

Getting in

Pre-book. Nomadic’s FAQs are blunt: swim sessions start and finish at the time you booked. Lodge copy says Thursday to Sunday. Nomadic’s booking page lists Swanborough Thursday to Monday. Use the Nomadic calendar, not a lodge brochure, for the day you are travelling. Lodge guests get 15% off sauna and/or swim if they contact the park first.

The swim product is Swim Only, or Sauna + Swim. Lifeguards are on those sessions. Private sauna (up to eight, 60 minutes) was listed at £90 on Nomadic’s Acuity catalogue, with lake dipping only if a lifeguard is present. Community sauna hours sat at £15. The public swim-only tariff is not printed on the lodge page; it sits on Nomadic’s booking screen. Book three months ahead if you can. Inside three hours, text 07912 092334. Sauna cancellations need 48 hours or you lose the money.

16+ only at this site, sauna and lake. Tow float, bright hat, water shoes. They have some spares; bring your own. No diving. No jumping. Shower before you enter. No sunscreens, lotions or oils in the water. Thunder shuts the lake; they reschedule. Arrive 10–15 minutes early to change. Late does not extend the slot.

The swim

A lake, not a circuit with published buoy lengths. Swim parallel to the bank when you can. Ladder in and out — Nomadic call this their least accessible site, and they mean it: strength and mobility required. A 200m rough track from the car park in one note; a two-minute walk in another. Both are theirs. Park thoughtfully, car-share, at your own risk. Defibrillator at the Swanborough Lodges office.

Wood-fired sauna by the water, capacity eight, heat aimed at about 90–95°C. Sit on a towel. Two towels if you are doing heat and swim. Changing rooms and cold shower on site. Keep noise down for the wildlife. Litter goes home with you. Whistle means out. Arm up if you cannot get back.

Worth knowing

Dogs: the lodge swim page says keep them on a lead. Nomadic’s Swanborough FAQs say pets are not permitted. Believe Nomadic for a public swim booking unless the lodge has told you otherwise in writing.

This is not Pells Pool in Lewes. Pells is the spring-fed lido, community-run, cheaper, seasonal. Swanborough is the Iford Estate lake with a Nomadic stove and a ladder. If you want a Surrey reservoir loop with a 450m competence bar, that is Divers Cove. If you want Ferris Meadow at £6 cash, Shepperton. This is the Lewes-side hour, 16+, booked, shoes on, float on, hat on.