The Lyme Lunge fancy dress dip is at 1pm on Friday 1 January 2027 on Sandy Beach, after the River Lym duck race at noon. Times, charities, prizes and parking.

The Lyme Lunge is on for 2027: about 1,500 people took the plunge in 2026, and the fancy dress dip is back on Sandy Beach, Lyme Regis, at 1pm sharp on Friday 1 January 2027. An hour earlier, at 12pm, the town’s New Year’s Day duck race sets off down the River Lym, so you can watch both. Both dates are on Love Lyme Regis, the town’s events listing.

Overview

  • Duck race: Friday 1 January 2027, 12pm. Starts at Woodmead Road bridge, Windsor Terrace, and finishes at Jordan Flats. First duck wins £100.
  • Lyme Lunge: Friday 1 January 2027, 1pm sharp, Sandy Beach. Fancy dress encouraged; a paddle counts.
  • Cost: free to take part or watch. Lungers can raise sponsorship for four charities; ducks are bought online.
  • On the beach: a changing tent, and hot soup for all Lungers from the Harbour Inn.

Last checked 15 November 2026.

The duck race, 12pm

  • When: Friday 1 January 2027, 12pm.
  • Where: the race starts on the River Lym at Windsor Terrace, by Woodmead Road bridge (DT7 3AW), and finishes downstream at Jordan Flats. You can follow the ducks along the river bank.
  • Cost: ducks are sold online through the Lyme Regis Christmas Lights website, linked from the Love Lyme Regis listing. Prizes: £100 for the first duck, £20 for second and third, and £10 for the last duck home.
  • Good to know: the Mayor of Lyme Regis and Town Crier Alan Vian start the race. Volunteers catch every plastic duck in a net after the finish and keep them for the next race. All the money goes to the Lyme Regis Christmas Lights for 2027.

The Lyme Lunge, 1pm

  • When: Friday 1 January 2027, “from 1pm sharp”.
  • Where: Sandy Beach, Lyme Regis. Thousands watch from the beach and the gardens above.
  • Cost: free. You can “just turn up and take a dip”, or get sponsored through the Rotary Club of Lyme Regis’s Lyme Lunge 2027 JustGiving page or a printed sponsorship form, both linked from the listing.
  • Good to know: “A paddle in the sea is enough to say you’ve ‘taken the plunge at the Lyme Lunge’,” the organisers say. A changing tent is provided and the Harbour Inn serves hot soup to every Lunger.

The Lunge is organised by the Rotary Club of Lyme Regis. It began in 2009 with about 50 people, grew to more than 1,500 in 2026, and has raised more than £40,000 for local and national charities. The 2027 Lunge raises money for:

  • Muscular Dystrophy UK, for people living with muscle-wasting conditions;
  • YFW Blood Bikes, volunteer motorcyclists who carry blood, samples and medicines for the NHS across Dorset and much of Somerset;
  • PSPA, the charity for people with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Degeneration;
  • Axminster and Lyme Cancer Support, which runs support meetings in both towns.

Weather

The Lunge is in the open sea in midwinter and depends on the conditions on the day. Check the Love Lyme Regis listing on the morning before you travel.

Getting there and parking

New Year’s Day is a bank holiday: our Christmas and New Year travel page has the holiday trains and buses as they are published. Lyme Regis car parks are on their winter charges from 1 November, set out on our parking in Dorset page, and the roadworks page lists closures. The town is busy by late morning, so arrive early to see both races.

For the other festive dips, including the Weymouth Harbour Swim on Christmas Day and Swanage’s Boxing Day swim, see our Christmas swims page. Everything else on over the holidays is on what’s on in Dorset and Christmas in Dorset.

Questions

What time is the Lyme Lunge 2027?

1pm sharp on Friday 1 January 2027, on Sandy Beach, Lyme Regis.

Do I have to register for the Lyme Lunge?

The organisers say you can get sponsored or “just turn up and take a dip”. Sponsorship is through the Rotary Club’s Lyme Lunge 2027 JustGiving page or a printed form.

What time is the Lyme Regis New Year’s Day duck race?

12pm on Friday 1 January 2027, from Woodmead Road bridge at Windsor Terrace to Jordan Flats.

Sources