It’s been a Clevedon tradition for decades.
But this year the annual New Year’s Day Swim at the town’s Marine Lake has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In previous years scores of swimmers in fancy dress braved the icy waters to take a dip on New Year’s Day morning.
The event, which also attracts large crowds of spectators, was previously organised by the Middle Yeo Surf Lifesaving Club and raised thousands of pounds for local charities.
This year, due to Government restrictions, the event has been cancelled.
“The New Year dip is magical and it brings lots of people to the lake who don’t swim throughout the year, plus lots of people with hangovers,” says Rowan Clarke, outdoor swimming coach.
“This increases the chance of a medical emergency, which just isn’t fair to put on the frontline health workers this year.”
The lake is managed by the Marine Lake Enthusiasts (Marlens).
Organisers say they hope the swim will return in 2022.
A spokesman for Clevedon Marine Lake said: “It’s important that we keep everyone safe by sticking to government guidelines around social distancing and mass gatherings.
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“We look forward to starting off 2022 with a New Year’s Day dip.”
Other outdoor swimming events have also been cancelled.
The annual Christmas Day Swim at Marine Lake in Weston-super-Mare also fell victim to the pandemic.
The Weston swim raises money each year for the RNLI.
