The Big Swim 2026 is a community event taking place in Poole AND Brighton on Saturday 14 March 2026 to celebrate International Women’s Day. Land & Wave is hosting The Big Swim in Sandbanks, Poole and PinkNicky is hosting the Brighton event. We’re so bloody excited!
The Big Swim is a not-for-profit community event aimed to shine a light on International Women’s Day and female equality. We really want you to celebrate with us by jumping in the sea on Saturday 14 March with all the favourite women in your life. Between Brighton a Poole, we want to see 1000 women jumping in the sea to celebrate!
Tickets are just £10, with £2 of every ticket going straight to Surfers Against Sewage to protect the sea we so dearly love. All Sandbanks (Poole) ticket-holders will also be entered into a mega prize draw where you have an amazing chance to win some epic prizes from our supporters listed below.
Grab your tickets quick!
ActiveDorset
www.activedorset.org | @activedorset
Funded by Sport England, Active Dorset is tasked with getting our county moving through movement and physical activity. We’re so pleased they’ve pledged to support Land & Wave and ‘The Big Swim’. Active Dorset helps people to get moving by providing support, advice and facilities – The Big Swim is your perfect opportunity to try something new and get moving with the support of hundred of like-minded women!
Ali Morton Yoga
www.alimortonyoga.co.uk | @alimortonyoga
Ali’s no stranger to the Sandbanks shoreline – it plays host to many of her amazing Yoga practices. For anyone that’s met Ali, you’ll know she’s a ball of positivity and light and is an advocate for cold water therapy for body and soul. She hosts a range of well-being events and retreats, including fabulous Yoga breaks to Majorca and beyond. PRIZE A beautiful brand new beach yoga/travel mat PLUS a Sauna Pack for 4 voucher, worth over £100!
BAO Skincare
www.baoskincare.co.uk | @baoskincare
BAO (pronounced Bay-O) is a Dorset-born skincare brand with global success. Vegan friendly and cruelty free, the organic BAO range is formulated with care to give your skin exactly what it needs, with none of the bad stuff. We’re super excited to be working with the lovely Emma from BAO – she’ll be on the beach at ‘The Big Swim’, Sandbanks, showing you her amazing range (Go and smell it – honestly it’s divine!). BAO is also providing a wonderful prize for The Big Swim prize draw; a BAO Skincare Bundle featuring the whole suite of BAO bestsellers including Recovery Face Cream, Restorative Face Oil, and more – all deliciously good for the skin – worth over £100!
Dorset Tea
www.dorsettea.co.uk | @DorsetTeaUK
Nothing beats a brew on the beach, so we’re delighted that Dorset Tea will be serving up samples just as you get out of the water. Lauren Forecast, Brand Manager, Dorset Tea, says:
“We are absolutely thrilled to be joining The Big Swim 2026 at Sandbanks this year. At Dorset Tea, we believe there is nothing quite like a refreshing brew to warm the soul after a dip in the sea.
This event is about so much more than just a swim; it’s a celebration of the incredible women in our community coming together to do something bold and joyful for International Women’s Day. It’s an honour to support an initiative that not only fosters such a powerful sense of connection but also contributes to Surfers Against Sewage to help protect the Dorset coastline we call home. We can’t wait to see you all there- cup of tea in hand!”
PRIZE: Dorset Tea bundle, to include a box of the full Dorset Tea range, plus a pair of Dorset Tea mugs and a tea towel!
Elly Harvey Jewellery
www.ellyharveyjewllery.co.uk | @ellyharveyjewellery
Sea-inspired jeweller and silversmith, Elly Harvey, will be joining us on the beach with her gorgeous silver and gold jewellery collection. Check our her big selection of the Dorset Rockpool necklaces, earrings and bangles as well as some Dorset landscape-inspired work like acorns and Snowdrops. Treat yourself to a very special sea-inspired memento to remind yourself of braving The Big Swim 2026!
PRIZE: A very special ocean-inspired necklace worth £155!
Emma Crowe PT
Facebook/EmmaCrowePT | @emmacrowept
Get ready for your warm-up!
Meet the wonderful whirlwind that is Emma Crowe. Emma’s a kick-ass Level 3 personal trainer and Level 2 Triathlon coach based in Dorset. Known locally for her fantastic group beach fitness sessions, her bespoke 1-2-1 coaching, plus her wonderful Beach Therapy sessions and Rejuvenating Retreats. We’re thrilled to have Emma on board as a supporter. She’ll be ;leading the warm-up on the beach before we jump in the sea! Follow her on facebook to find out about her range of pay-as-you-go beach circuits classes and wellness events.
Franceso Hair Salon
francescohair.salon | @francescohair.salons
The Francesco Hair Group is renowned for luxury salon experience paired with a friendly, personal touch. The gorgeous team at the Francesco Lilliput Salon will be on the beach on Saturday 14 March to offer hair treats and advice! Francesco Salon is also generously providing luxury cut and blowdry salon voucher worth over £100 for The Big Swim prize draw – what an absolute treat!
Cadbury Pilates
www.cadburypilates.com | @cadburypilates
Kate Cadbury is a pilates pro, with 20+ years of experience in physio and pilates for strength and mobility. She’s a GB athlete (Duathlon), business owner and mum of two – an amazing example for women everywhere! Cadbury’s Pilates is offering a brilliant prize; 6 months access to online pilates classes (worth £210)! We’re so pleased to have Kate on board!
Land & Wave
www.landandwave.co.uk | @landandwave
Land & Wave (that’s us!) is hosting ‘The Big Swim’ at Sandbanks in Poole, Dorset – it’s our second event of this scale and we’re so excited! Land & Wave is your go-to place for adventure in Dorset. Coasteering, Paddle Boarding, Old Harry Kayaking trips, Bushcraft, Guided Wild Swimming for groups . We deliver exciting corporate events, Schools Trips, Stag & Hen do’s, Kids Holiday Clubs at Sandbanks and Outdoor Instructor Training courses.
Prize: Adventure Voucher for 4 people worth up to £239!
Choose from Kayaking, Coasteering, Bushcraft or Paddle Boarding.
PinkNicky
pinknicky.com | @pinknicky1
PinkNicky is an Adventure blogger and a huge advocate for getting more women in the outdoors. Nicky launched the first ever Big Swim in Brighton and has celebrated it’s growth year-on-year, with BBC and ITV press coverage last year. This is the second year PinkNicky and Rosie from Land & Wave are joining forces to double their efforts and get EVEN MORE women celebrating on The Big Swim in Brighton AND Sandbanks. Together, they hope it will be the biggest event of its kind on the South Coast.
The Saltwater Sauna
www.thesaltwatersauna.com | @thesaltwatersauna
The Saltwater Sauna has propelled Dorset’s sauna culture to full zen-status over the last few years, with stunning Nordic bathing saunas located in Sandbanks, Avon Beach, Lulworth Cove and now Boscombe. They offer open sauna sessions, private bookings and a glorious 90-minute Guided Sauna Ritual; a specially designed sequence to take the body through heating and cooling to maximise the sauna’s health and wellbeing benefits. The Saltwater Sauna at Sandbanks is our go-to place for some much-needed contrast therapy – nothing beats it to boost your mood and feel fantastic.
The Saltwater Sauna is very generously giving away 20 x 90-minute communal sauna ritual sessions at our brand new Boscombe Sauna House, new for 2026.
These communal rituals are guided experiences that blend heat, steam, and simple wellbeing practices inspired by Nordic bathing traditions. Expect moments of warmth and stillness, gentle guidance, and a shared atmosphere designed to help you slow down, reset, and reconnect, with yourself and with others.
Rituals are communal rather than private, offering a relaxed, inclusive experience where everyone moves through the session together at their own pace.
The Wild Swimming Co.
www.thewildswimming.co.uk | @thewildswimmingco
Our friends at The Wild Swimming Co. are the go-to Swim Retreat specialists. Catering for all swimming and fitness abilities, their super-inclusive swim retreats and events run year-round in various gorgeous UK locations. From Old Harry Rocks Swims, The Wild Swimming Festival in Swanage through to coastal and mountainous Swim Retreats, they provide a warm welcome to anyone who loves cold water swimming and dipping.
The Wild Swimming Co. is providing a mega prize for The Big Swim:
Prize: A Dorset Wild Swimming Holiday 10 – 12 April worth £429!
Wild & Wiser
If you’re someone who feels most alive in cold water, open skies and good conversation you’ll feel right at home at Wild & Wiser.
Taking place in Dorset this September, Wild & Wiser is a weekend gathering for women who want space to reconnect to nature, to creativity, to purpose, and to each other. Think inspiring speakers, wild movement, thoughtful workshops, calm moments, bold ideas and a marketplace of brilliant female-founded brands.
There’s a natural synergy between The Big Swim community and Wild & Wiser, women who are curious, courageous, outdoors-loving and up for doing life a little differently.
We’ll be on the beach at The Big Swim come and say hello, find out more, and if it sparks something, we’re offering Big Swim participants 10% off weekend tickets.
Because sometimes the best conversations start in the sea… and continue around the fire.
https://www.wildandwiser.co.uk
The Big Swim 2026 – Meet Your Hosts
The Big Swim is the brainchild of Nicky Chisholm – female adventure blogger, event organiser and all-round powerhouse. Rosie (Land & Wave) joined The Big Swim 2024 in Brighton and immediately knew she wanted to bring the joy to back to the beaches of Sandbanks in Poole.
Roll on The Big Swim 2025 and Nicky and Rosie brought together over 1000 women to the south coast waters – a twin-centre raucous celebration of female empowerment, full of colour, big laughs and bravery.
Now they’re back to do it all again, supporting their favourite charity, Surfers Against Sewage, whilst rallying their 1000-strong community of swimmers to pledge their support to amplify and empower women and girls in their lives. Small actions. Big outcomes.
