The acronym SWAMP stands for South West Alternative Market & Party, originally coined by one of our founding members Ghost-theoriginal way back in 2004. It is an event that caters for anyone remotely interested in fetish and BDSM and the associated lifestyles. It takes place on the second Sunday of every month, starting at 1pm and running until 11pm, and opens with a vibrant fetish market from 1pm until 6pm showcasing a number of dedicated fetish vendors offering quality equipment, supplies and associated curiosa not available on the high street. You can find a list of vendors for an upcoming event by clicking here.
Running alongside the market are alternating bi-monthly demos and bondage workshops. Demos are on various topics, start at 3pm and run for approximately 45 minutes – these are included in the cost of a £3 market/daytime ticket; the bondage workshops start at 2.30pm and finish at approximately 5pm – you will need a £10 all day/evening wristband to participate, but watching proceedings from behind the barriers is included in a £3 market ticket. The date for the next one can be found by looking on our ‘2024 Dates’ page here. These skill share based bondage workshops, run by two long standing SWAMP die-hards Jahc and RichardRope, take place in a large nightclub room with soft foam mats spread across the floor. It is ideal for both newcomers and experienced riggers (**NB** we do not have any suspension points here), so if you have never tied a human being before you will be as equally welcome as someone who has tied half of Bristol. We have some rope available for people to use, but we ask people to bring their own along if possible. As throughout the rest of the SWAMP event, we do not allow photography or mobile phones to be on show – we have a dedicated area where photos can be taken without including any non-willing participants.
Between 6-7pm our traders pack away their remaining stock in time for the start of our evening party at 7pm. If you are spending the day with us this is an ideal opportunity to sample the many restaurants in the vicinity, but you are welcome to have a drink and stay in the club – we don’t close for the changeover.
At the SWAMP evening party, we have a bar area and seating areas where general socialising happens, the same as in any regular nightclub. We then have what we call dungeon areas (or playspaces). Installed in these are various pieces of BDSM equipment e.g. spanking benches, whipping crosses, bondage mats, massage tables etc. where people can practise the many varied forms of BDSM. We are quite fortunate at SWAMP to be able to have the space for a public and a private dungeon.
In the public dungeon anyone is free to watch from behind our barriers – in the private one, only those playing are allowed access. The rules are the same in each, the main one being no sexual play is allowed (so no insertables, no bringing to orgasm with fingers, hands etc.). We have monitors in both dungeons to ensure that everyone is playing safely and within our guidelines. They are also there to help with any questions people have regarding technique and/or equipment.
We have a friendly bunch of kinksters here who are very welcoming – a healthy number of newcomers come along each month, and we have a large cross section of ages and backgrounds. You’ll meet people with a broad range of interests and alternative lifestyles. There’s no pressure to get involved in anything, the majority of people come along just to socialise, make new friends and watch others play.
**PLEASE NOTE:**
We have a strict dress code for the evening but not for the daytime. Please check out the separate Dress Code page here.
Tickets/wristbands are not available in advance; you just turn up and pay at the front desk. We only accept cash at the front desk, but the bar accepts cash and cards. There is a changing area along with a constantly manned cloakroom at a cost of £1 per bag/coat – we recommend this to keep your belongings safe, and once you have your ticket you can access your belongings as often as you like.
Mobile phones are not to be used whilst at SWAMP. Please keep them in your bags or pockets. If you need to show your photos to friends or check for texts, please do so either inside our designated photography area, or outside of the building. Anyone found using a mobile in the building will be asked to leave. Not everyone has the luxury to be open to their vanilla friends regarding their kinks and fetishes, so we like to keep SWAMP as an anonymous space without fear of ridicule or reprisal. If you can’t understand this simple rule based on respect for others, then it’s most likely that SWAMP is not for you.
We have a vibrant social network on Fetlife.com. It’s free to join – and once you’ve created a profile you’ll be able to join our group here which has the latest info on upcoming events. Make sure you send us a friend request too. ?
If you’ve any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in contact and we’ll get back to you asap. It’s quite difficult to sum up a SWAMP event as it covers a wide range of fields – market, resource hub, munch, play event, fetish party. Just come along with an open mind and be prepared to engage with others who share your interests – if nothing more, we can guarantee you will not have spent a more interesting Sunday evening!