ROB HUGHES
hits out at wild swimmers
“When does enjoyment turn to nuisance?”
WITH the numbers of people holidaying at home, there’s a lot more use of the countryside going on. Loads more people are wandering along our lakes and rivers and you can’t fail to notice that there are also many more people swimming in them.
I’m a firm believer that people should be able to enjoy the countryside, but when does enjoyment turn to nuisance or, even worse, damage? I can think of a few examples, invasive wild swimming being one.
It’s legal for people to swim in navigable rivers (those that are open to boats), but access to the water is something to which they don’t have an automatic right.
On non-navigable rivers and lakes there is no such common law right (Scotland is different). However, on its website The Outdoor Swimming Society states that the law is “unclear” on whether it’s allowed or not and encourages swimmers to participate “in most public places and open spaces” as long as they have access without trespassing.
I know of a few matches that have been disturbed and called off as a result of wild swimmers paddling through pegs. There have been some heated exchanges between swimmers and anglers, but the key thing is to use diplomacy and tact before conflict.
We have a common aim after all – clean rivers. Knowing how much pollution is running through many of ours, wild swimming could highlight some of the failings of water companies, the Environment Agency, Natural England and poor farming practices and highlight the health risks of bathing in some rivers that so woefully miss the Water Framework targets. It might go some way to helping make our rivers even better…