SWIMMERS SEEK RULE CHANGE
HARBOUR DREAM
WILD swimmers who want to be allowed to swim around in the Cumberland Basin staged a protest dip on Bank Holiday Monday – and were promptly kicked out of the water by the Harbour Master.
The swimmers are beginning a campaign to change minds and the law to allow people to go for a swim in the Floating Harbour, and say the benefits for people and for the city as a whole should be considered.
But Bristol City Council has said that wild swimming in the harbour is dangerous – the Harbour Master booted the swimmers out of the water on Monday morning – and the council followed that up with a statement which said the idea would not be considered.
Swimming has long been banned from Bristol’s docks. As well as the waterway being a working harbour, the water there was dirty and polluted for decades.
But the group of wild swimmers, led by the man who owns one of Bristol’s most popular wild swimming locations, said that water quality at the Floating Harbour is getting so good now, it would be possible to allow swimming.
They say many other cities around Europe allow swimming in parts of their harbours, rivers and waterways, and the move could create something of a new visitor attraction to the city.
The swimmers got in the water on Bank Holiday Monday morning, swam around a bit in the Cumberland Basin, and then the Bristol City Council-employed Harbour Master arrived to tell them what they were doing contravened a bylaw which bans swimming in the harbour.
The group of swimmers were led by Johnny Palmer, a businessman who owns Warleigh Weir, one of several popular wild swimming spots on the River Avon between Bath and Bristol.
During the Covid lockdown last summer, he had to try to shut off access to the weir as it was becoming so popular that the police warned him social distancing wasn’t being adhered to.
Now Mr Palmer said the idea of allowing swimming in the harbour, or at least in the Cumberland Basin, would mean people didn’t have to crowd into relatively small river swimming spots like Warleigh Weir or the weirs in Saltford and Keynsham.
He said the group of swimmers on Monday morning took multiple safety precautions including looking out for boats, swimming in pairs, using slow entry breathing techniques and having lifesaving equipment on standby.
Just a day after the wild swimming campaign launch stunt at the Cumberland Basin, four people had to be rescued by the fire service after getting into difficulties in the St Augustine’s Reach area of the Floating Harbour, in an incident which prompted a huge response from all three emergency services.
But Mr Palmer said that under controlled conditions – similar to those in cities like Copenhagen, or even at the Marine Lake of Clevedon or Henleaze Lake in Bristol – showed that cold-water outdoor swimming in somewhere like the Cumberland Basin could be possible.
“Done properly, wild swimming can be very safe, even safer than crossing the road,” he said.
“One of the swimmers this morning pointed out that getting to Cumberland Basin was vastly more dangerous than the swim itself,.
“It occurred to me that we have an incredible body of water in the middle of our city.
“It makes total sense for us to start the conversation about this becoming an accessible amenity for the people of Bristol to use for physical health, mental health and to increase social capital.
“Wild swimming has been increasing in popularity for years, but since lockdown it has exploded in popularity. There is clear evidence that wild and cold water swimming has considerable physical and mental health benefits. Ask any wild swimmer!
“People also want to connect with nature in an era when we are in an ecological emergency and wild swimming is the perfect way of doing this.”
Mr Palmer said the water quality of the Floating Harbour is now so good that often it’s registered at the ‘excellent’ standard for bathing waters – something that isn’t often true for the River Avon further upstream, or many beaches near Bristol.
But after the group swam around the Basin for a while, the Harbour Master intervened, telling the swimmers that what they were doing was against the law.
They were told to get out of the water. Swimming is banned from the Floating Harbour, including Cumberland Basin on the basis of water quality, the number of boats in the harbour and the risks of cold
❝ Done properly, wild swimming can be very safe, even safer than crossing the road. One of the swimmers pointed out that getting to Cumberland Basin was vastly more dangerous than the swim itself Johnny Palmer
water shock and drowning.
However, paddle boarding is allowed on the Floating Harbour, and beginners being coached how to paddle board will often end up in the water.
A triathlon planned in Bristol later this year has its swimming section in the Cumberland Basin.
“I get it, the Harbour Master and other bureaucracies don’t want swimming in the water of our city,” said Mr Palmer, who said he has tried to turn the Warleigh Weir island into a wild swimming area, with safety features and notices.
“Many of their concerns are valid as there have been deaths and other serious incidents in the harbour.
“With the right education, messaging and culture we can reduce these risks though – indeed, swimming in the harbour can actually make it a safer place overall.
“Simple things like regular simple training, having a designated area for swimming and zero alcohol can make it so much safer,” he added.
Bristol City Council’s pollution website states there are weekly tests for e-coli at four locations on the harbour, and monthly tests at another five spots, including Cumberland Basin.
“Water quality can be affected by heavy rainfall, contamination from further up river, drainage problems or discharges from boats and wildlife,” the council website states.
If the tests find that e-coli levels are above 5,000 counts per 100ml at Baltic Wharf, the closest weekly test site to Cumberland Basin, then notices are posted stopping use of the harbour for things like canoeing, paddle-boarding and yachting.
The most recent weekly tests at Baltic Wharf showed that the e-coli levels were 50 times lower than the level that would be deemed unsafe, and the most recent monthly test at Cumberland Basin showed a similar small level of e-coli pollution.
The Post asked Bristol City Council whether there was a chance the idea of wild swimming in Bristol’s Floating Harbour, even in one specific location like the Cumberland Basin, and under controlled conditions, might be considered.
A council spokesperson said: “Bristol’s harbour is a working area in an integral part of the city and wild swimming in this area is dangerous and against the local bylaws designed to ensure safety.
“The health and safety of all harbour users is our first priority and, along with other members of the Bristol Water Safety Partnership, our harbour staff work hard to maintain a safe environment along the waterway and prevent accidents and so that people can enjoy the range of attractions on offer.
“As the Harbour Authority, the council conducts regular safety checks and has ensured measures such as life rings, improving visibility of quayside ladders and installing more life chains in certain highrisk areas are in place.
“As with any large harbour or waterway, we cannot completely remove all risks and would urge people not to endanger themselves and others by swimming in this area.”