Sea Lanes Brighton

I've had my eye on a swim at Sea Lanes on the beach at Brighton since it opened a couple of years ago. Since I'm travelling from Bristol to ExCeL London for an event tomorrow, I decided to take a detour and finally pay it a visit. What better way to spend a grey, drizzly February morning than with an outdoor swim on the British south coast?

It's mid-morning on a weekday at the end of February, and the weather is exactly what you'd expect—overcast with occasional light drizzle althought the sun is making an effort and it shoudl brighten up this afternoon. The pool is a perfectly chilly 18°C, which I was able to check on their website beforehand—probably the first time I've been able to check a pool temp online before a swim! They also list wind speed and UV rating, which is a nice touch. Walking out onto the pool deck, I see around 15 swimmers spread across six speed-signposted lanes. About half are in wetsuits or trisuits, while the other half, like me, have opted for skins.

The setup is fantastic. The pool deck has glass windbreakers on one side, offering a stunning view over the English Channel, while the landward side is lined with modern, wood-clad buildings. I actually took a wrong turn on my way in and ended up at the offices of SwimTrek, the swim tourism company. I’ll have to take a trip with them at some point! I had originally hoped to do the Nevis to St. Kitts Cross Channel Swim in the Caribbean this March, but I couldn’t quite make it work this year—maybe next time.

I jump in the furthest lane-side lane and get going. Since we’re in the home of British open water swimming, I decide to make it a longer session. I start with a lane buddy, but after fifteen minutes, I notice they’ve switched over. A quick glance at the lane ends reveals that they’re setting up for a coaching session, so at my next turn, I make a big push for a seamless transition to the next lane and continue on.

Sea Lanes is a 50m, six-lane pool with proper chunky wave breakers. The lanes do feel a bit tight, not a huge issue, but something you notice as swimmers pass in the opposite direction.

As I push into the second hour, the pool starts to empty out. I spot a couple of swimmers wearing what look like Channel Swim Association caps. With the Channel swim season kicking off in a few months, I imagine this is peak ramp-up time for those training while waiting for the sea temperature to rise.

6.4km later, I’m done! A quick chat with a guy training for his July Channel swim, then off in search of coffee and cake.