Swimming spots near Cardiff
16 swimming spots within 30 km of Cardiff, 15 of them designated bathing waters monitored by Natural Resources Wales and the Environment Agency (England). Nearest first — the closest is Llanishen Reservoir, about 6 km away.
2 under a do-not-swim notice right now. 2 carrying a caution. 10 with no current pollution alert. 2 not monitored. 5 rated Excellent under the EU Bathing Water Directive, which describes four seasons of samples rather than today.
- Llanishen Reservoir5.5 km from CardiffGood to go
- Penarth Beach5.6 km from CardiffGood to go
- Jackson's Bay Barry Island11.6 km from CardiffGood to go
- Whitmore Bay Barry Island12.3 km from CardiffGood to go
- Watch House Bay12.8 km from CardiffCaution
- Cold Knap Barry13.1 km from CardiffGood to go
- Fontygary Bay16.8 km from CardiffNot monitored
- Limpert Bay19.7 km from CardiffNot monitored
- Weston-super-Mare Sand Bay19.7 km from CardiffDo not swim
- Weston Main20.7 km from CardiffCaution
- Brean21.3 km from CardiffGood to go
- Weston-super-Mare Uphill Slipway21.8 km from CardiffDo not swim
- Clevedon Beach22.4 km from CardiffGood to go
- Col-Huw Beach (Llantwit Major)24.3 km from CardiffGood to go
- Berrow North of Unity Farm24.9 km from CardiffGood to go
- Southerndown29.8 km from CardiffGood to go
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Common questions
- Where can you swim near Cardiff?
- 16 sea, lake and river swimming spots lie within 30 km of Cardiff, spread across 4 areas. This page lists them by distance from the town rather than by county, because a boundary is not what decides where you drive.
- What is the nearest beach to Cardiff?
- Llanishen Reservoir in Cardiff, about 6 km away. It is the closest of the 16 listed here; the next few are within a short drive and each shows its current status, so the nearest is not always the one to pick.
- Is the water clean near Cardiff?
- 15 of these 16 spots are designated bathing waters with published monitoring, from Natural Resources Wales and the Environment Agency (England). Monitoring covers bacterial quality only — it says nothing about tides, currents, swell or cold-water shock, and nothing here is a clearance to swim.
- Which spots near Cardiff have the best water quality?
- 5 of them hold Excellent, the top classification under the EU Bathing Water Directive, based on bacterial samples across the previous four bathing seasons. That describes a four-year record rather than the water today — each spot page shows both.
- Can you swim near Cardiff right now?
- 4 of the 16 are currently flagged, including 2 under an active do-not-swim notice, and 10 have no current pollution alert. These change day to day, so check the individual spot before you travel.