Plucky bathers took to the sea off Dorset, Devon and Norfolk as well as the Serpentine lake for the traditional Peter Pan Cup race in London's Hyde Park.
Luke Belfield, who is training to become the first person with arthritis to swim the English Channel, said: "It's a community, there's still people in there, they're so friendly, so vibrant, so lovely."
Katy Irving, who was taking part for the third time, said dealing with the cold got easier the more times you did it. "Your body gets used to it," she added.
The race in the capital is believed to be the world's oldest continuously contested swimming competition, having been run since 1864.
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