For the little fish in you...
Great Swims
Over recent years the Great Swim series has grown in size and there are now 5 available around the country. The great thing about these events is that they are open to swimmers of all abilities and see World Champions mixing with amateurs. They cost £30 and you can enter online here.
The Great London Swim takes place in the Royal Victoria Dock, London. The course is one mile along the Thames and has 5,000 participants. The next event will take place on 2 July 2011.
For those of you who live in the east of England the Great East Swim is on 18 June 2011 in the Alton Water Park, Ipswich. There is a choice of a 500 metre and one mile course and although the 2011 event will be only the third time the event has been held the 2010 event had 1500 swimmers take part.
Moving further north, 2010 saw the first Great Salford Swim on Salford Quays, just outside Manchester. This is a one mile course from dock to dock, making it unique. The next event is on 24 September 2011.
The biggest of the Great Swim series and the original event is the Great North Swim in Lake Windermere, Cumbria. Taking 
place over 2 days the 2011 event will be on 3 & 4 September. There were 9,000 participants entered to take part in 2010 in the 500 metre, one mile and 2 mile events.
Finally Strathclyde Country Park in North Lanarkshire hosts the Great Scottish swim, due to take place on 20 August 2011. The location will be the venue for the 2014 Commonwealth Games triathlon and is a one mile swim for elite swimmers or a 500 metre swim for any ability.
Other swimming events
If none of the above events take your fancy then you can take a look at the Outdoor Swimming Society's website for a full list of events in the UK and abroad here.