Wed. Nov 6th, 2024
alert-–-dipping-into-2024!-swimmers-brave-the-cold-for-traditional-new-year’s-day-plunge-into-the-seaAlert – Dipping into 2024! Swimmers brave the cold for traditional New Year’s Day plunge into the sea

Hundreds of Brits have braved the cold weather to take an icy plunge into the sea to mark New Year’s Day.

Brave souls from Kent to Fife took to the beach to bring in 2024.

Clad in fancy dress, or barely anything at all, the bathers endured bitterly cold temperatures to raise money for charity.

More than 100 people took part in the Kinghorn Loony Dook New Year’s Day swim on the Fife coast of the Firth of Forth.

It was organised by the RNLI for their bicentennial year.

A man dressed as Will Ferrel in Elf smiles as he poses with a woman in Co Wicklow, Ireland

A man dressed as Will Ferrel in Elf smiles as he poses with a woman in Co Wicklow, Ireland

Female bathers pose for the camera in the cold Irish Sea as they take part in the New Year's Day charity swim

Female bathers pose for the camera in the cold Irish Sea as they take part in the New Year’s Day charity swim

A woman smiles as she makes her way back to the shore following the new Year's Day Dip in Co Wicklow

A woman smiles as she makes her way back to the shore following the new Year’s Day Dip in Co Wicklow

Over one hundred people take part in the Kinghorn Loony Dook New Years Day swim on the Fife coast

Over one hundred people take part in the Kinghorn Loony Dook New Years Day swim on the Fife coast

New Years Day dippers brave the freezing North Sea waters in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside

New Years Day dippers brave the freezing North Sea waters in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside

People take part in the annual New Year's Day Dip, on the beach in Ramsgate, south east England

People take part in the annual New Year’s Day Dip, on the beach in Ramsgate, south east England

Hundreds of bathers bravely run into the sea in The Solent at Stokes Bay in Hampshire

Hundreds of bathers bravely run into the sea in The Solent at Stokes Bay in Hampshire

A woman is dressed as Mario in the Gosport New Year's Day Dip in The Solent at Stokes Bay

A woman is dressed as Mario in the Gosport New Year’s Day Dip in The Solent at Stokes Bay

New Years Day dippers brave the freezing North Sea waters in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside

New Years Day dippers brave the freezing North Sea waters in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside

A man dressed in an Elvis costume smiles as he poses with a woman in Ramsgate

A man dressed in an Elvis costume smiles as he poses with a woman in Ramsgate

Also, in Ramsgate hundreds of swimmers bravely ran into the sea to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

It came just a week after the Kent bathers ran into the sea for Boxing Day.

The dip at Solent at Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire was to raise money for Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service.

But not everyone jumped into the ocean as people herald the new year with a bracing swim in Clevedon Marine Lake in North Somerset.

Also across the Irish Sea, people took part in the New Year’s Day dip for various charities in Co Wicklow on the east coast of Irleand. The first New Year dip in Co Wicklow was in 1983.

There was also the annual dip at Whitely Bay, Tyneside, for the Panama Swimming Club New Year’s Day Dip.

It was a glorious sunny day at the coast with bright blue skies – but the weather did little to take the chill from the ocean.

Smiles all round after the chilly sea plunge The Solent at Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire

Smiles all round after the chilly sea plunge The Solent at Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire

More than 100 people took part in the Kinghorn Loony Dook New Years Day swim

More than 100 people took part in the Kinghorn Loony Dook New Years Day swim

People smile as they reluctantly run into the chilly waters in Fife, Scotland

People smile as they reluctantly run into the chilly waters in Fife, Scotland

People took the brave plunge to raise money for charity. Pictured, bathers hit the beach in Ramsgate

People took the brave plunge to raise money for charity. Pictured, bathers hit the beach in Ramsgate

Today has been sunny but chilly for the traditional New Year's Day swim

Today has been sunny but chilly for the traditional New Year’s Day swim

Around 800 brave swimmers took part and many donned fancy dress for the event, which is the biggest in the area.

Michael Collings, a 60-year-old test analyst, and partner Julie Bishop, a 53-year-old mental health worker, wore penguin outfits as they entered the water.

Pals Owen Davidson, a 50-year-old computer analyst, and wife Joanne, a 53-year-old holistic therapist, got into the spirit by dressing as giant Christmas crackers.

The New Year's Day revellers don't seem to mind the cold as they smile swimming in the Clevedon Marine Lake

The New Year’s Day revellers don’t seem to mind the cold as they smile swimming in the Clevedon Marine Lake

Women dressed as mermaids flank a man in a deep-sea diving costume on the Fife coast

Women dressed as mermaids flank a man in a deep-sea diving costume on the Fife coast

Someone is dressed up as a turkey with sunglasses and a fez in the Kinghorn Loony Dook New Years Day swim

Someone is dressed up as a turkey with sunglasses and a fez in the Kinghorn Loony Dook New Years Day swim

But not everyone jumped into the ocean as people herald the new year with a bracing swim in Clevedon Marine Lake in North Somerset

But not everyone jumped into the ocean as people herald the new year with a bracing swim in Clevedon Marine Lake in North Somerset

A woman embraces the cold in Clevedon Marine Lake, North Somerset

A woman embraces the cold in Clevedon Marine Lake, North Somerset

Pictured, the silhouettes of bathers in Ramsgate on New Year's Day

Pictured, the silhouettes of bathers in Ramsgate on New Year’s Day

Someone wears a fake six-pack T-shirt and a Viking beard and helmet in Ramsgate

Someone wears a fake six-pack T-shirt and a Viking beard and helmet in Ramsgate

People run back out of the chilly sea during the annual plunge in Ramsgate

People run back out of the chilly sea during the annual plunge in Ramsgate

Michael said: ‘We do this every New Year’s Day and we love it.

‘It helps you get out of bed in the morning. We’re going for a bacon sandwich and a pint now.

‘It was freezing, but it makes you feel good.

‘We dress as something different every year. One year we dressed up as Elvis.

‘The atmosphere was amazing. Everyone screams and shouts as they enter the water.

‘It’s a great way to celebrate the New Year.’

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