UKC

Does anyone know of any decent "wild swimming" spots in mid Snowdonia ? Hoping to go to stay in Maenrwrog next month to catch some of the Women's Tour of Britain with MrsD.  The complication is that MrsD is in full on triathlon training mode and doesn't want to miss a swim session so we'd like to find a good lake venue nearby.

llyn Geirionydd and llyn Peris might suit?

Any idea what sort of water temperature to expect ?

Llyn Peris, the local triathlon group do a mini tri on Wednesday evening I’m sure they wouldn’t mind a visitor.

Obviously if you want the real secret “wild  swimming” spots you’ll have to follow the well worn muddy trail, the discarded towels, socks and underpants and then walk past the no swimming sign and join the que of instagramers  beside a photogenic 8” deep puddle that feeds someones drinking supply 😏

Not worried about trendy "wild" spots - strictly training and strictly MrsD only. Thanks.

Ive sent you an email about a good local spot.

Not Llyn Idwal, it’s an SSSI and covered by multiple protections.

Thanks, received.

I know a few but, sorry, I'm not going to tell you. 

Have a look at the map. Hopefully this won't sound sarky, it's not meant to be😁.

Have a look at the map is good advice there are so so many lakes around! 

I'd say warmer than "polar bears" but still in nad retraction territory.

I was in water surface temp 9.5C (deep quarry lake) near start of April and 10.5c shallower lake on 5th of this month but note the surface temp of the deep quarry is today at 15C so water is warming up as the weather picked up. Probably lakes like Llyn Peris, Llyn Cwellyn, Llyn Geirionedd  could be 16C if we have some more warm weather between now and then, or 14c if not. However in my case I wear a dry suit, so I'm wondering what layers I need to wear underneath... swimming?? Are you mad 🤣???

That's OK.  It's not for me anyway and it's more a question of a practical place for a training swim.  It doesn't have to be a secret or exclusive.

I won't be going anywhere near the water ! This is for MrsD's training benefit.

She did an event in 12C water the other week and ended up nearly hypothermia.  Since she's primarily training for an event in Portugal next month, suffering cold isn't a priority. 

EDIT: Sorry forget all that, realised you're in Maentwrog forget the lovely lake as it miles away, just take MrsD to Borth-y-Gest and she can swim there (salt water) while you can stand on the beach shouting moral support 

Might be worth being a little weary of one or two of the suggestions made so far. Llyn Peris in particular I would suggest is not recommended, being part of the Dinorwig pumped storage power station with fluctuating water levels and potentially strong currents at times, I'm guessing those suggestions meant Llyn Padarn which is an altogether more reasonable proposition.

I would also be a little cautious swimming at Borth y Gest unless you have a good understanding of the behaviour of the tide here. A bit of a paddle or some pottering around is reasonable coming onto high water slack in one or two of the bays, but there are strong currents close to the shore here at times, especially on an ebbing tide. Most of the coast from Abersoch to Bermo is relatively easy going tide wise (although there can be a bit more movement past one or two of the headlands) with the notable exception of the river mouths, especially the larger ones such as the Mawddach, Artro, Dwyryd and Glaslyn estuaries, where currents are strong and potentially dangerous for swimmers. From Maentwrog the beach at Harlech would be easily accessible.

12 degrees C sounds (relatively) warm!

Does she use a wetsuit?

Thanks for the useful info.  I've a brother who lives near Abersoch so that's a potential excuse for a visit.

She's in a Triathlon wetsuit which probably isn't the best, insulationwise.  I suspect a big part of the problem she had was that it was a river swim with an unseasonably fast flow.