Christmas swims: Llandudno, Porthcawl, Tenby sea dips

Swimmers, bathers and dippers have been taking a chilly dip in the sea at Llandudno, Porthcawl and Tenby over the Christmas break.

Llandudno in Conwy county saw about 200 take the plunge, with the water temperature recorded as -4C (25F).

It was organised by the Lions Club of Llandudno, who said they were pleased with the turnout.

Hundreds returned to Tenby for the 50th anniversary of the Tenby Boxing Day swim.

First held in 1970 by a handful of people as a publicity stunt, this year hundreds braved the chilly Irish Sea in winter in just swimwear or costumes, to raise money for charity.

And organisers of the Tenby Boxing Day Swim were expecting a record turnout of close to 1,000 swimmers following a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This year's costume theme was 'gold' to mark the event's golden anniversary.

Swimmers have raised more than £300,000 for good causes over the past five decades.

This year it raised money for the Tenby Memory Café, the Dai Rees Foundation, Tenby RNLI and the Paul Sartori Foundation.

Sea swims have been taking place all along the Wales coast and the brave souls in Tenby were following in the footprints of hundreds in Bridgend county on Christmas Day.

The annual Christmas day swim in Porthcawl saw many happily turn up in festive swim costumes and fancy dress - such as traffic bollards, Christmas crackers and the unusual combination of Santa on a flamingo dinghy.

This year some had been taking the dip in the cold water to raise money for RNLI.