In Pictures: Cold water courage to start the new year as swimmers dive into 2026

Inflatables, selfies and creative costumes helped take the edge off as swimmers gathered on UK beaches for the chilly tradition.

Swimmers take part in the annual New Year’s Day charity swim on Bray seafront in County Wicklow (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)

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Brave swimmers across the UK marked the New Year with bracing dips in the sea.

Photographers from the Press Association were on hand to snap revellers embracing the cold at the RNLI New Year’s Day Dip in Southend-on-Sea, Essex; Castlerock Beach in Coleraine, Northern Ireland; and on Bray seafront in County Wicklow, Ireland.

Inflatables, selfies and creative costumes helped take the edge off as swimmers gathered on beaches for the chilly tradition.

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In Pictures: Cold water courage to start the new year as swimmers dive into 2026

Inflatables, selfies and creative costumes helped take the edge off as swimmers gathered on UK beaches for the chilly tradition.

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