Dozens of people donned swimsuits and fancy dress as they gathered for an annual festive tradition in London. Members of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in Hyde Park.
Members of the Serpentine Swimming Club prepare to take the plunge (Lucy North/PA)
A Christmas Day dip has become an annual tradition for many (Lucy North/PA)
Swimmers race over a 100-yard course as they compete to win the Peter Pan Cup. The Christmas Day race has been held every year since 1864 and is the oldest continuously swam race in the world, according to the club’s website.
Many swimmers don fancy dress for the occasion (Lucy North/PA)Swimmers emerging from the water after the Peter Pan Cup race (Lucy North/PA)
The tradition has taken hold all over the UK. These swimmers were up bright and early at Cullercoats Bay in North Tyneside for a Christmas dip.
Swimmers take a Christmas Day dip at Cullercoats Bay in North Tyneside (Owen Humphreys/PA)The cold weather failed to put off these festive swimmers (Owen Humphreys/PA)
Scores of people descended on Blackroot Pool at Sutton Park, in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, for a morning swim.
Swimmers prepare to take part before the Christmas Day dip in Blackroot Pool (Jacob King/PA)Swimmers perched on the edge of Blackroot Pool at Sutton Park, getting ready to dive in (Jacob King/PA)People embraced the cold water as they jumped into Birmingham’s Blackroot Pool (Jacob King/PA)
Even Father Christmas and Rudolph decided to take a plunge after what must have been an exhausting night’s work.
A svelte looking Santa took a dip (Jacob King/PA)A woman wearing toy reindeer antlers smiling while swimming in the water (Jacob King/PA)Others, like this little doggy, preferred to watch from the sidelines (Jacob King/PA)
In Dublin, Ireland, thousands thronged to the Forty Foot promontory in Sandycove as people pulled on Santa hats to take part in the festive dip despite bitterly cold conditions.
Swimmers in Ireland were not put off by the cold temperatures (Niall Carson/PA)Santa hats were the perfect accessory for those who dared to take a dip (Niall Carson/PA)Spectators embraced the festive spirit, arriving in their festive best (Niall Carson/PA)
Meanwhile, out of the water, people in Sandringham waited for a glimpse of the royal family attending a Christmas Day church service.
Members of the public queue up for the Christmas Day morning service attended by members of the royal family at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk (Aaron Chown/PA)A dog wearing a festive Christmas coat in Sandringham (Aaron Chown/PA)The Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte attending the Christmas Day morning church service (Aaron Chown/PA)The King and Queen waving as people take photographs (Aaron Chown/PA)
