Dart10k 2026

Registration will be open in Coronation Park, Dartmouth from 5:00pm - 7:00pm on Friday. You can pick up your race pack for the Saturday or Sunday swim.

The Park & Ride will open @ 5:00am on Saturday and 5:30am on Sunday. You will park and board a quick 5-minute bus ride down into Dartmouth.

The event village (registration) opens @ 5:30am on Saturday and 6:00am on Sunday in Coronation Park, Dartmouth

Your swim briefing will be @ 7:45am on Saturday, and 8:15am on Sunday. Please be ready to swim for your briefing as you’ll go straight from this, to board the ferries.

Traffic in the area will be heavier than normal so please factor in additional travel time.

Post Swim Coaches

The coaches from Coronation Park, Dartmouth back to the Park & Ride field will run from 12:30 - 15:00 Saturday and 13:00 - 15:30 Sunday. After these times, the usual Park & Ride buses will still be running, but not as frequent. The coaches depart on a first come first served basis, but it is a fairly quick round trip.

Swimmers need to be 18+ to take part in the Dart10k

Click here for event map

There is very little and restrictive car parking in Dartmouth town centre. Therefore, you MUST park at the Dartmouth Park & Ride, and take a short bus trip down into town. The address is below, and you will pick up signage as you approach.

Dartmouth Park & Ride, TQ6 9LW

The Park & Ride service is operated by South Hams council, so you will need to pay as normal, using the PaybyPhone app or the machines. The Park & Ride buses are included in your parking fee.

Click here for event map

The Park & Ride

Dartmouth Park and Ride, Townstal Road, Dartmouth, TQ6 9LW

The Event Village

Coronation Park, 21 Coombe Rd, Dartmouth, TQ6 9PQ

All you really need to swim is:

• A full-length wetsuit (“wrist-to-ankle neoprene”)

  • See the skins swimmer section below for information on swimming the Dart10k without a wetsuit, or anything less than a full-length wetsuit.

• Goggles

• A small bag of things to change into after the swim

You may wish to bring things like, ear plugs, vaseline, neoprene gloves/socks/hoods etc. but these are optional.

What is NOT allowed

• Tow floats

  • Having these as part of our swim makes it harder for our safety cover to identify you, as it doubles the the number of brightly coloured things in the water. If you have a medical reason for requiring a tow float, please email swim@levelwater.org

• Fins & hand paddles

• Headphones/music

• GoPros

• In fact any “extra” kit is not allowed at this event (watches are OK).

Registration

Once you’ve arrived at the event village, head to the registration tent. Our amazing volunteers will check you in, give you your race pack and write your swimmer number on your hand.

You can also arrive on Friday and register for either day (See timings section above) If registering on Friday please write your number on your hand using the pens provided before the swim.

You will not be able to register for Sunday on Saturday.

Your Race Pack

You’ll collect your race pack at registration (See timings above). They will NOT be posted out to you.

The pack contains:

• Your swim hat, which must be worn during the swim and is coloured to match you wave.

• Numbered wristband (must be worn on your wrist)

• Numbered baggage tag (if you wish to drop a bag)

• Skins swimmer wristband (If accepted through the skins swimmer process)

• Timing chip to be worn around the ankle, ideally underneath your wetsuit to keep it safe.

YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO BOARD THE FERRIES UNLESS YOU HAVE YOUR HAND NUMBERED, YOUR WRISTBAND, TIMING CHIP AND YOUR SWIMMING HAT.

Baggage

You can either leave bags with your supporters or give them to us to look after. Please label with tags provided in your race pack. We will look after all small bags.

Morning Refreshments

We will have a coffee and breakfast stand at Totnes. VG and GF options available.

Water Bottles

Please bring your own bottle for water refilling so we use fewer cups.

Toilets

We will have toilets to use before and after the swim, please do not get changed in them as this can create queues.

There will be three ferries to transport swimmers up the river to the start of the swim. The ferry you board will depend on your wave colour.

You can check/change the wave you’ve entered by logging in to your SWIMMER DASHBOARD.

To help you decide your wave please consider your 1 mile swim speed in a pool:

Leisurely (Orange) = 36 mins +

Medium (Red) = 31 - 35 mins

Faster (White) = 26 - 30 mins

Racing (Blue) = under 25 mins

If you are wanting to change your wave after the final deadline, please come and see us at the info desk on the day. If space in the wave allows, we will swap you but this cannot be guaranteed.

We may need to change your wave colour depending on the capacity of the ferries.

Once the briefing has finished in the event village we'll walk 500m to the Ferry Quay, and then take ferries 10km upstream to the start. The journey will take around 50 minutes.

The ferries will be moored to buoys, with their engines turned off

Swimmers will exit the ferries down stairs (steps, not ladders), onto large pontoons

The edges of these pontoons are at water level

Swimmers can either sit down on the edge of the pontoon & then slide in when ready, or simply step into the water.

As always, our world-class safety team will be on hand, to assist and support the whole process. We will contact swimmers with additional needs directly, and adapt the plan to work for you.

Once you’re in the water, it’s up to you. Enjoy the atmosphere and don’t forget to look up every now and then and enjoy the scenery around you.

Swim Safety

There will be a full water safety crew on the water at all times. If you need support or you notice another swimmer needs help, please alert one of the lifeguards. If a swimmer is to be extracted from the water, a full medical team is standing by on-land to provide immediate care. A full safety briefing will be provided before the swim in Totnes.

Tow floats, fins, music, GoPros, in fact any “extra” kit are not allowed at this event (watches are OK).

How fast do I need to swim?

The 10k swim is for swimmers who can do a mile in under 40 minutes. If you become separated from the main pack, then the safety crew may pick you up and leapfrog you further down river. This swim is not suitable for plus-40-minute milers. Experience of open water / outdoor swimming is required.

Feed Stations - TBC

There will be two ‘feed stations’ along the route. One at 4km and one at 7km. There will be flapjacks (VE) , bananas (VE/ GF) and vegan sweets available.

We will not be able to accommodate individual or personal snacks for swimmers.

You will exit the water at the finish via a slipway meters from the event village in Coronation Park. Once in the park, you will then head through the finish funnels where we will remove your timing chip & wristband. You will then be able to collect your well deserved mug of hot chocolate, greet your loved ones, grab some food and join our celebration in the event village. Once your day is complete, you can board a bus back to the Park & Ride.

Supporters will be encouraged to stay and enjoy the event village in coronation park. There is no room for anyone apart from staff and swimmers on the ferries. We kindly ask your supporters not to walk with swimmers up to the ferry boarding point as it will become very congested. They will be able to stand on the water front opposite the event village and wave the ferries as they head up river.

We will do everything we can to support swimmers with additional needs.

The ferries are all wheelchair accessible for boarding, as is the slipway at the finish for exiting the water. However, once the ferries have made it to the swim start location, there is steps down onto the pontoon. We will do everything we can to assist.

We will get in touch with swimmers who have stated during registration that they have accessibility needs. Or you can contact us on swim@levelwater.org if you have any queries before we reach out.

If you have any concerns whatsoever about your medical fitness to participate, please consult with your GP before taking part in the swim.

If you or any of your spectators have had diarrhoea/vomiting within 48 hours before the event, please do not attend. If you become unwell during the event, please let one of the team on site know and kindly head home from the event. (As long as it is safe to do so).

• Please bring personal medication if required (eg inhalers, epipens etc).

• It is important that you are aware of the symptoms of water-borne illnesses and do your best to look after yourself and reduce your risk of getting ill. Here’s an interesting article on the topic.

• If you’ve been diagnosed with a heart condition since buying your ticket, we kindly ask you to please not swim - this is for your own safety.

If you would like to swim in less than wrist-to-ankle neoprene, then you must fill out the skin swimmer form by clicking HERE. The deadline for submitting this form is the 30th April.

The returned skins swimmer application will be considered, and you will then be informed of our decision within a month. The team will be looking at 3 things:

Previous documented experience of long-distance swimming without a wetsuit in similar temperatures, e.g., the Channel, Windermere one-way, BLDSA events, Swimtrek.

Current training at similar temperatures (anticipated 14-17 degrees)

Willingness to undertake a long-distance practice swim prior to the event of a similar distance and a similar temperature prior to the event, to ensure you do not become hypothermic.

You do not need to provide notarised evidence, logbooks of your experience or certificates of completion to evidence your experience. We will assess your experience based on your skin-swimming application form, completed by you. We work on the basis that your application is truthful. Where appropriate we verify this by looking at events’ official published results.

The decision of the water safety manager is final on wetsuits and no discussion can be entered into. We advise swimmers to be prepared to wear a wetsuit if asked. All swimmers agree to abide by the event rules.

The bottom line on skins swimmers is that we welcome experienced skins swimmers, who show (on their application form) recent experience and acclimatisation to these distances at this temperature, but we are not the place to do your first long skins swim (or your first long skins swim in a while) as you will not have individual safety support. This rule is for everyone's safety - safety cover is shared. Groups such as the BLDSA offer swims where you provide your own safety cover and are more appropriate for anyone trying a long-distance swim without a wetsuit for the first time.

Please note, your ticket is sold on a “wetsuit compulsory” basis, and if we are unable to grant you skins swimmer permission your ticket is not refundable.

The water quality in Totnes (the swim start) is consistently rated "Poor: advice against bathing" by the Environment Agency.  Median readings for  Enterococci and E.Coli are 2-4x the "Sufficient" standard, and this may result in an elevated risk of illness.  Thousands of committed outdoor swimmers still wish to take on this classic route, and we run the swim on the basis of personal responsibility.  We intend to run the swim if water quality in Totnes is in the expected range, but may cancel if there are strong indications that it is unusually poor. On sign up, you will have agreed to the following:

Water Quality and safety - Exclusion of Liability

Terms and Conditions

Entry types

Charity Place

A charity place comes at a reduced fee (£70 instead of £120) and with a fundraising target of £250. All the money you raise goes towards 1-1 swimming lessons for children with disabilities across the UK.

General Entry

General Entry is £120 and gets you access into the Dart10k on your chosen day.

Volunteer & Swim

These tickets are very limited and give you reduced entry into the swim (£70 instead of £120) and you agree to volunteer the day you are not swimming. You’ll also receive priority entry for the 2027 Dart10k.

If you do not volunteer, the charity will ask you to pay the additional amount of £50.

What’s included with your ticket?

The swim! Your entrance fee covers the costs of putting on a complex event like this, including swim safety cover, medical cover, timing/safety chips, and an event swim hat and gift.

Can I get a refund?

After the initial 14 day cooling off period we don’t offer refunds on tickets. If you cannot swim then you can transfer your ticket to someone else.

We have an adverse weather cancellation insurance policy. If this is triggered and pays out to us, we will be able to refund an equivalent proportion of your ticket price. The details of this policy are below.

Cancellation by us

Level Water works hard to deliver events that are as safe as possible. The safety of our participants and staff is always our priority. There are inherent risks and challenges of swimming in the sea, river or lakes, which can lead to situations where event cancellation, rescheduling or reformatting is required.

We may have to cancel an event if circumstances beyond our reasonable control arise, including, without limitation, war, civil or political unrest, terrorism, adverse weather or poor water quality.

We are not insured for all event cancellation eventualities.

If circumstances beyond our control require us to cancel the event, then Level Water has no responsibility for any costs you have incurred and unfortunately won’t be able to issue a refund on your ticket purchase unless it is weather related.

Cancellation insurance for adverse weather.

Level Water holds adverse weather event cancellation insurance for our 2026 events.

If we cancel the event due to adverse weather, we will file an insurance claim. If this is successful, the insurance payment will be used to issue refunds or partial refunds.

Whilst we’ve taken care to ensure that the policy includes relevant details, as with all insurance policies, the final discretion is with the insurer and therefore cannot be guaranteed.

The details of our insurance policy state that;

• The event can proceed in continuous moderate rainfall

• The event can proceed in wind speeds up to 20mph

• The event cannot go ahead in continuous heavy rainfall

• The event cannot go ahead in wind speeds over 20mph.

The policy excludes cover for cancellation, abandonment, disruption or rescheduling of the event directly or indirectly resulting out of, contributed to by, or in connection with fog, mist, low cloud or restricted visibility.

The policy covers extreme weather conditions which:

a) occur on the day(s) of the event and which are deemed by you or the event organiser on the day of the event to pose a serious threat to the safety of those attending the event;

and/or b) occur during the policy period and which result in conditions which the local authority consider to pose a serious threat to the safety of those attending the event;

and/or c) occur during the policy period and which prevent You or the event organiser from undertaking the necessary set up to enable the event to proceed due to: (i) concern for the safety of those responsible for the necessary set up, or (ii) reasons of physical impossibility

We have a process in place with Event Water Safety Limited and the Dart Harbourmaster to ensure that we monitor the weather meticulously in the run up to the event. Level Water will take the decision, based on advice from Swim Safety Limited and the Dart Harbourmaster as to whether or not the swim is safe to go ahead.

We will communicate with you at the earliest possible opportunity if there is a risk of cancellation.

The Dart10k couldn’t happen without the support of our amazing volunteers. So if you’re a swimmer, supporter or just looking to help out please email volunteers@levelwater.org.

Alternatively, you can visit this page and fill out the form. We can never have enough volunteers, bring your friends and family and help make the magic happen. You will get a special gift too!