Sculling is the small, controlled sweep of your hands and forearms that lets you feel, hold and push against the water without taking a full stroke. Sculling in swimming teaches you to keep steady pressure …

If you swim in a chlorinated pool more than once a week, a shampoo made for swimmers earns its place in your kit bag. Chlorine strips oils from your hair, leaves a smell that lingers …

You do not need a particular frame to swim well, and you cannot swim your way into a skeleton you were not born with. A swimmer body is a lean, strong build with broad shoulders, …

Most swimmers need two different jammers: a tough, chlorine-resistant pair for weekly lengths and a tight, approved suit saved for race day. Training jammers are built to survive hundreds of hours in chlorine. Racing jammers …

A good kickboard lets you train your legs on their own, so you can feel exactly what your kick is doing. For most swimmers, the Speedo Team Kickboard is the best all-round choice, because its …

A pull buoy is a figure-of-eight foam float that you grip between your upper thighs so your legs stay up without kicking. That leaves your arms, shoulders and back to do all the work. To …

Most pool swimmers do best with a compact microfibre towel, and cold-water swimmers need something warmer on top. The gap between a good and a bad choice shows up fast: a soggy cotton towel that …

No, you cannot swim in Cardiff Bay's open water. Cardiff Harbour Authority bans swimming and jumping into the Bay and its rivers because of deep water, currents and the risk of drowning. The good news …

Every good swim starts with the same core kit: a well-fitting swimsuit, goggles, a towel and poolside flip-flops cover the pool, while open water adds a high-visibility cap, a tow float and, for weaker swimmers, …

If you swim several times a week and keep getting that itchy, blocked, sore feeling afterwards, a well-sealing pair of earplugs is the cheapest fix you can make. Swimmer's ear (otitis externa) happens when water …

A good swimming warm-up takes about 10 to 15 minutes: roughly five minutes of dryland work on the poolside, then 300 to 700 metres of easy swimming, kick and drills that build gradually into your …

The swimming catch up drill is a freestyle drill where one arm stays stretched out in front while the other arm completes a full pull and recovery, and you only begin the next stroke once …

The safest way to learn is to master breath control and floating at the wall before you ever try a full length, because a swimmer who can exhale calmly and stand up from a float …

Wild swimming in North Wales means cold, clear mountain water, hidden waterfall pools and quiet coves that most visitors drive straight past. Guided swim days across Eryri, the Conwy Valley, the Llŷn Peninsula and Anglesey …

If water racing up your nose ruins every backstroke set, a nose clip fixes it in seconds. For most swimmers, the Speedo Competition Nose Clip is the pick worth starting with: it's the clear best …