Every year thousands of people line the harbour at Weymouth to witness this annual Lions event which has become a landmark event for the town.

It all started back in 1948 as a bet between two friends, Dill Laker (landlord of the Duke of Cornwall public house) and Reggie Bugler (a local taxi driver) who decided to swim the harbour on Christmas Day after a heavy drinking session the night before. After that initial swim, word got around, and after that swimmers would just turn up and swim the harbour for fun. As the event became more popular and grew in size from that original Christmas Day in 1948, someone had to take over the running of the event in a more professional manner. The Weymouth & Portland Lions Club stepped in and took over the organising and running of the event in the mid-1970s and have run it successfully every year since then (except for 2020 when the event was cancelled due to Covid-19).

For those brave enough to suffer a Christmas morning dip, the 70-metre-plus distance starts from the Cove on Trinity Road and finishes across the water opposite the Harbour Master’s office on Custom House Quay. Swimmers are split into up to 15 groups of 30, with some swimmers racing across the distance in just a few minutes. Safety is a major consideration now, and swimmers are required to purchase a ticket, register, and are counted into the water at the start and counted out at the opposite end. Sea canoeists from the RNLI are on the water and are able to assist swimmers who get into difficulty. Help is also on hand from MV Freedom, a local charity that enables disabled people to enjoy boat trips around the outer harbour and Portland. On Christmas Day it helps the Lions by providing a ferry service across the harbour.

It’s estimated that spectator numbers were well over 2,500 in 2019 supporting a total of 480 determined swimmers. The whole event lasts for just over an hour and many of those who take part then go on to enjoy a well-earned pint with perhaps a turkey lunch in a local public house.