An all-day open water adventure!
Get ready for SPLASH!tonbury!
12 unforgettable hours overflowing with live music, food & drink, friends, family, the occasional surprise and a team of your swimming besties.
Oh, and some open water swimming.
Well, quite a lot of swimming.
Wild & Free!
It’s completely free to take part in SPLASH!tonbury. There's no registration fee when you sign-up – we just ask you to commit to raising some money for a great local charity – Newlife.
And with every stroke you swim, and every penny you raise, will help make a life-changing difference for disabled children.
So, sign up, have some fun, swim some laps, raise some money and change some children’s lives forever.
What better way to spend a day, hey?
Event Info
- event 2026 Date TBC
- schedule 12 hours: 8am until 8pm
- location_on Somewhere beautiful in Staffordshire
- groups_2 Teams of 3 to 6
- emoji_events Prizes up for grabs
- shoppingmode Free + team fundraising commitment!
Question? Get in touch!
The most fun you can have in your cossie*!
SPLASH!tonbury is so much more than just another swim event. It's a day-long fundraising festival of swimming.
Our Event Camp is filled with live music & laughter, hot food & drink and buzzing with the energy of swimmers & your support crew cheering you on.
It’s guaranteed to be a day you’ll never forget. Promise.
* Or in a wetsuit – it's totally up to you.
Teammates make the team great!
SPLASH!tonbury’s a 12-hour open water swimming marathon. But you’re not in it alone – this is a team event.
So, get your friends together – teams can be between 3 & 6 swimmers – then swim as many 250m laps of Pillaton’s lake as you want before handing over to one of your teammates.
There’s no pressure to swim the fastest or swim the furthest – it’s as much as a challenge as you want it to be.
So, the question isn’t “How far you can go?” The question is “How far do you want to go?!”
Your team's fundraising commitment
SPLASH!tonbury is free to enter but by signing up your team’s committing to hit a fundraising target for Newlife.
That might sound scary but we’re reasonable people.
So we're asking your team to raise just £150 per swimmer.
That means, if you’re a team of three we’d like you to raise at least £450. If you’re a team of 6, it’s £900.
SPLASH!tonbury’s all about working together to make a difference. So, if you need some help hitting your team target, would like some fundraising ideas, then drop us a note.
We’ll do everything we can to help you smash your target.
100% of funds raised through sponsorship go to Newlife.
Check out the SPLASH!tonbury JustGiving page.
Why we're swimming
Help disabled children fulfil their potential
Every day, Newlife is changing the lives of disabled and terminally ill children across the UK.
They offer a lifeline for families, providing life-changing and life-saving specialist equipment when and where it’s needed.
Childhood cancers, birth defects, accidents, diseases and infections can all cause disability. They are affecting children and their families every day.
With your support, Newlife can help even more children get the best possible start in life and fulfil their potential
Everything you need to know
OK, here are the basics:
- Swimwear – wetsuits are optional
- Goggles
- Swim cap
- Towels
- Lots of warm, dry layers.
You also need:
- A tow float – If you don't have one, you can hire one from Pillaton.
- A light for your tow float – you can buy these from Pillaton for £3.50
It's totally up to you – wear one if you want. The water will be about 16°C – so if you're brave enough to swim skins, you can.
Please bring:
- A 3mx3m gazebo or similar sized tent.
- A camping chair for each of your swimmers.
We want your help to make the SPLASH!tonbury Camp a special place. So we'd love you to turn your 3m2 corner of the camp into "Your Happy Place" – whatever and wherever that might be.
Why not transform your pitch into a pub? How about spending the day at the spa (or Spar). Maybe stretch out on a sun lounger while listening to hula music. It's up to you…
There's a fabulous Fortnum & Mason's hamper & some champagne up for grabs for the Best Dressed Pitch.
Teams can be between 3 and 6 swimmers.
Swimmers must be 18 years old on the day of the swim.
You can BUT you will need to do a conversion session – either at Pillaton or another venue.
Open water swimming is surprisingly different to swimming in a pool. Even if you're a strong swimmer, you'll need some open water swimming experience before taking part in SPLASH!tonbury.
Not really. It's a celebration of open water swimming. A chance to spend a day enjoying the company of your swimming buddies.
Having said that, we will take a note of how many laps your team completes.
Your team's minimum fundraising target is £150 per swimmer. So, if your team has 3 swimmers, your target is £450. If you have 6 swimmers on your team, the target is £900 – and so on.
We're fundraising on JustGiving - start your fundraising here.
PS - Once you've signed up to swim, we'll email you a link to set up your JustGiving page.
Absolutely – the more the merrier! Invite them down to enjoy the music, have some lunch, soak up the atmosphere, and cheer you on as you swim.
There's plenty at Pillaton to keep kids entertained all day long too.
Oh, the facilities at Pillaton are lovely.
There's a large indoor changing room (with a heated floor!), hot showers, and toilets.
If you've forgotten any of your swimming essentials, there's a swim shop next to the lake – selling tow floats, swim caps, goggles, dry robes. Just about everything you could want.
If you need a hot meal after a session in the lake, there's a restaurant serving hot food. Or, if you just want a hot drink, there's a snack bar in the middle of the camp.
If you've brought your family with you, there are 2 fab play areas, a zip wire, and 2 giant bouncing pillows!
We've made every effort to ensure SPLASH!tonbury is as accessible and inclusive as possible. However, due to the nature of open water swimming and the specific location of the lake, full accessibility has not been possible in all areas. We appreciate your understanding and are happy to assist with any specific needs or questions you may have – please don't hesitate to get in touch with our team.
Our fan-SPLASH-tic sponsors
SPLASH!tonbury wouldn't happen without our fantastic, sorry, our fan-SPLASH-tic sponsors. Please show them some love!
