Category: North Ireland

… is a group that swims in Donaghadee Harbour on the east coast of Northern Ireland every day of the year, no matter how cold it is.

It all started with a family that swam daily from 2012, but dozens have since joined in. For the daily swims, 20-30 people can show up, with very different ambitions and – according to their own statement – ‘all possible sizes and shapes‘. As in most cold water societies we know of, women 50+ are the majority. Some take a fairly short dip, others swim calmly breaststroke for 5-15 minutes, while some crawl away over longer distances. But good temper – they all have that! Cold water swimming is said to alleviate depression, and most people are in a very good mood afterwards, you get a hormone and energy boost from it.

‘We wish we had that!’, they said, when we tould them about ‘Sjøbadet‘ in Trondheim and the (cold but good) changing rooms we have there.

There is a big difference between the tides in the Irish Sea, and the swimming times (full tide) are published on Facebook a couple of times a week. After swimming, some ‘Dunkers‘ meet at a café, and the group has become a social meeting place with various parties and gatherings in addition to swimming – and not least a large social commitment in the form of charity. Various challenges and events are constantly being arranged, often with an element of fundraising.

When Tobatheornottobathe visited Northern Ireland in 2024, we had the opportunity to join the ‘1K Summer Challenge’. In short, the challenge consisted of swimming 1000 meters continuously in Donaghadee harbour. So simple, so easy. However, Knut was worried that Idun would swim too slowly, so Idun started 10 minutes earlier. With the result that she finished long before him, and no one swam together. The prize for this great achievement was being allowed to buy an overpriced T-shirt with the first names of everyone who had participated during the summer. The money? – for charity, of course.

The Donaghadee Chunky Dunkers Facebook group has over 2,600 members, far more than the daily swim group would normally be able to recruit. Why? Britain has a long tradition of channel swimming, with the Dover-Calais crossing being the most famous. However, in 1947, Tom Blower became the first person ever to swim across ‘The North Channel’, i.e. between Ireland and Scotland, a distance of 35 km.

Tom Blower was a decorated hero of World War II, and crossed the English Channel several times, with a personal best of 13 hours and 29 minutes (in 1937). When crossing the Channel, strict rules apply: It is not allowed to touch the escort boat or personnel. The swimmer should not wear a wetsuit, gloves or socks, only a swimming cap and swimsuit/pants. The cold is an important factor, and even more so when it comes to crossing the North Channel. And when crossing the Irish Sea, the Donaghadee-Portpatrick route applies. The incredible number of followers on FB can be attributed to Donaghadee as the starting point, and those who attempt it are expected to sign the Northern Ireland flag before setting off. Tobatheornottobathe were not fit to try channel swimming in 2024!

The challenge this time is: Alone or as a team, to swim a total of 35 km (from Donaghadee to Portpatrick) during the winter, for the simple sum of £10 per person (the money goes to, well you know…). It may sound easy, but when the water temperature is consistently between 0 and 2 degrees, each swim is not many hundreds of meters, even when you add up for two people. After 14 weeks (out of a possible 22), we have just passed 18 km. Halfway there!

And the price? Well, there have some rumours a hand sewn badge. Still, around 140 persons have paid to participate in this!

So, that’s how our days are passing by this winter, with 2-4 swims per week. It’s really easy to find reasons not to swim in 0 degree Celsius water! But on the other hand, every swim is a nature experience, you feel happy and refreshed afterwards, and it’s motivating to see that you’re making progress, even if it’s slow.

NB! When swimming in cold water, you should NOT warm up again in a sauna or a hot bath tub. Rapid, external heating causes the blood vessels in the skin to open, blood from the core of the body will flow there, to be cooled down and later hit the heart, which can lead to cardiac arrest. This was called ‘The second death’ during World War II, when it was discovered by horror that torpedoed sailors who had been picked up from the sea died during warming up. Hot drinks and activities that cause the muscles to produce heat are best, as they raise the temperature from within.

This problem is not valid for short dunks in the water. We still enjoy taking sauna with a short dunk or two in the cold water.

If you drive 30 km eastwards from Belfast, you will come to the peninsula ‘The Ards‘ and a small town with 7000 inhabitants called Donaghadee. That was a strange name you might think, but special names flourish in the region of County Down, since many of them come from Gaelic language. ‘Domhnach Daoi‘ has two possible meanings, either ‘Daoi’s church‘ after a now unknown saint, or ‘The church on the hill‘. The reason for placing a town here is the good harbour.

The distance to Scotland is 35 km from Donaghadee, and the town has been a transit port for Great Britain and Scotland for centuries. In 1606, Hugh Montgomery settled Scottish Protestants here, which was the start of ‘The Plantation of Ulster’, where the plan was to populate Northern Ireland with Lutheran, royalist, English-speaking inhabitants. Montgomery also developed the port and set up a trade route between Donaghadee and Scotland. Donaghadee was Northern Ireland’s most important port until 1850, more important than Belfast.

The inner part of the Donaghadee harbour is completely dry at low tide, so if you are going to swim there, you must follow the tide tables. Here, in the northern part of the Irish Sea, there is fresh and nice Atlantic water, and a swim is highly recommended. However, you should be a little careful with the tidal currents, at least outside the harbour. There is easy access to the sea, with steps down (many people walk on the beach here at low tide, with or without dogs), or you can use the boat ramp a little further north of the pier.

After a swim in Donaghadee Harbour, food and drinks might be a good idea, and we will recomend ‘Pier 36‘ pub, the setting for ‘The Commodore’ pub in the TV series Hope Street. Why did we get fascinated by this TV series? Firstly, we had already booked a Home Exchange there, before we heard about the TV series. And also, the very first episode starts with a swim race in the harbour, with the chief of police taking part in it. Of course we had to see more!

At Pier 36 there is good food and nice people, although a little less drama behind the counter when we were there than in the series. A new season has been shot and will be released in April 2025. We are looking forward to that!