A New Dawn for the Dart: Dart10k 2026

I’ll get by with a little help from my friends… (Photo by Freddie Fryer)

There is a stretch of the river Dart between Sharpham and Dartmouth with no road beside it and no path along it. Most of the year, almost nobody sees it. For two days in July 2026, 1,300 swimmers had it entirely to themselves, ten kilometres each, under 25 degrees of glorious Devon sunshine.

Between them, they raised £165,000, and the total is still climbing. That will fund around 11,000 adapted swimming lessons for children with disabilities across the UK.

The Dart10k has always been the UK's original marathon-distance outdoor swim, swimming's answer to the London Marathon. But this year was extra special. This year, we rebuilt it.

A New Start at Sharpham

Last year, the river said no. Weather and water quality on the Dart forced our hand, and there are few harder things than telling hundreds of swimmers, people who had trained all winter through dark mornings and cold water, that the swim couldn't go ahead.

So we didn't simply restage it. The team went to work and gave this iconic event the facelift it deserved, and the chance to be its best self. A new finish, a dedicated event village, a free ferry ride up the river, the whole event redrawn.

The biggest change came at the top of the river. The swim now starts at the beautiful Sharpham Bends, rather than Totnes.  This isn't a cosmetic change: water quality at the new start is between ten and thirty times better than at the old one. The same legendary river, the same bucket-list distance, the same deckchairs and hot chocolate, but cleaner water under every stroke.

One swimmer put it better than we could: "It was good before, now it's perfect."

Coffee, Nerves and a Sunrise

Swimmers arrived at Coronation Park in Dartmouth as the sun came up. Packs collected. Bags checked, then checked again. Coffee held like a life raft.

By 07:45 the briefing began, and at 08:15 we were walking to the ferries,, because the Dart runs to the tide's timetable and not to ours. 

From there, our swimmers made their way up the river to the official start on three ferries: the Cardiff Castle, the Dart Explorer and the Kingswear Princess. Three great river boats, decks full of wetsuits, sun cream and a good deal of nervous laughter.

The Swimmer Who Almost Didn't Come

Somewhere on those ferries was a swimmer who very nearly wasn't there at all. This is what they told us afterwards.

"The start was something that will remain with me forever - spontaneous clapping, sheer joy. The finish was just spectacular. Thank you Level Water, volunteers, river crew, and everyone. I almost pulled out as I lost my love of swimming for several months. Now it’s back."

That is what we build these events for. Not the times. Not the distance. The bit where someone who had fallen out of love with the water gets back into it, and finds it waiting for them.

Off the Pontoon and Into the River

At Sharpham, the ferries moored up against the pontoons and the moment of truth arrived. Some swimmers eased in. Some, gloriously, just dived. One, of course, bombed in.  And as each one went, the clapping started. Nobody organised it. It just happened, boat after boat, swimmer after swimmer.

Into the river, to lose our minds and find our souls. 

Once you are in, it's just you and the river. Water, trees, and the slow, soulful pull downstream, through Long Stream, past Dittisham and the Anchor Stone, with the feed stations bobbing patiently at Cornworthy and Parson Mud for anyone who fancied a banana and a bit of moral support. No spectators out here. No wifi, but the connection’s clear. Nowhere else to be but in it.

Watching over all of it was a brand-new water safety team, out on kayaks and paddleboards, keeping 1,300 swimmers on course, upright and cheerful. They were, in a word, magnificent. Not one swimmer went unwatched or uncared for. "The best organised event I've ever taken part in," one swimmer told us. "Superb from start to finish. Staff, volunteers, lifeguards, were all great and the swim was perfect."

The field spread out the way it always does over a distance like this. It’s not a race, but at the sharp end Paul Martin came home on Saturday in 1:51:33, with Andrew Stobbs going 1:53:53 on Sunday. At the other end, our slowest swimmer was out there for the best part of four hours alone with their thoughts, the scenery and the river. Two very different swims, and every bit as valuable as one another. As we always say: the winner is the one who enjoys it the most.

Helped Out, A mug as a medal 

Swimmers arrived at our generous hosts, Dart Marina, to be helped from the water by our volunteers, our sponsors and our CEO, who spent two days lifting exhausted, elated people back onto dry land and grinning at every single one of them.

Out through the marina, past spectators sitting in the sunshine with a cold drink, cheering and clapping and raising a glass to every wetsuit that squelched past. A guard of honour, essentially, staffed by strangers who had simply come to watch.

And at the end of it, back to Coronation Park. The same patch of grass they had left that morning full of nerves, now full of sunshine, food, drink, music and celebration. And, of course, the legendary Dart10k hot chocolate, served in the finisher's mug you get to take home and savour of forever.

It was, quite simply, the most joyful weekend.

Every Stroke Counts

The Dart10k 2026 has raised £165,000 so far, and the total is still climbing. That's around 11,000 swimming lessons for disabled children who deserve to feel exactly what our swimmers felt out on that river: capable, free, and completely at home in the water.

Without the profits and fundraising from our outdoor swimming events, these children wouldn't have equal access to swimming lessons. Many of them wouldn't be active at all.

Thank You

Swim Safety, our brand-new team, in boats, on kayaks and paddleboards, from the first stroke off the pontoons to the last hand out of the water at Dart Marina. You kept 1,300 swimmers safe, and you did it with calm, competence and a great deal of good humour. 

Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company and Dart Harbour for their incredible hard work and vision to make a river start at Sharpham possible. 

Dart Marina for welcoming us to finish on their land, and have a rather different weekend so that they could host our joyful antics, and welcome the event to now be based in Dartmouth. 

Dartmouth Town Council, South Hams District Council and Dartmouth Rugby Club for our land-based permissions and support.

Volunteers directing traffic, checking bags, helping swimmers out of the water, pouring hot chocolate. Even the smallest jobs have the biggest impact. You are the lifeblood of this event.

Brand Partners and Sponsors Vivobarefoot, Red Equipment, SwimTrek, Zone3, Catch and River Dart Hideaway. Thank you for the prizes, the volunteers and the support across the board.

But the biggest thank you goes where it always goes: to the swimmers, and to every person who sponsored them. You got into a cold river and swam ten kilometres for children you will never meet. There's no topping that.

We can't wait to do it all again next year.