KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
In short, open-water swimming is the best and cheapest medicine around. But, you may ask, how accessible is that medicine? In other words, what are the rules around open-water swimming in the UK? In Scotland, similar to ramblers’ right to roam, swimmers have a right to swim in open spaces. However, the law in England and Wales, says the Outdoor Swimming Society, is less clear.
The headline access facts are: it’s legal to swim in any navigable waters, which means waters that are open to boats; if you walk across private land to a public body of water, it’s trespassing; reservoirs are privately owned, but in England there’s a duty of care on the owners to provide access for recreational use (though this doesn’t usually include swimmers); and land owners either side of the river officially own half the riverbed, but they don’t own the water, so it can be assumed that you have access to the water.
This is all well and good, but is water quality of a standard that you’d want to take the plunge? The Environment Agency (EA), which monitors all our rivers, streams and lakes at 7,000 locations, has a neat water-quality map on their website where you can tap in the name of a body of water and it’ll give a six-tier rating that peaks with 1 or A, which is very good. They test for chemistry, biology, phosphates and nitrates. If, for example, the biological or chemical rating is D, E or F, you shouldn’t swim.
The growth of open-water swimming has seen concerted pressure applied on the government to clean up our rivers, including tackling the legal discharge of untreated sewage into our waterways. As just 14% of British rivers are rated as ‘good’ under the EU water framework directive, it’s a call that’s receiving increasing support. Campaigners in Ilkley, for example, have applied for the River Wharfe to be granted bathing status, which would force Yorkshire Water and the EA to raise standards. Campaign group London Waterkeeper are seeking similar improvements on sections of the Thames.
“WHAT ARE THE RULES AROUND OPEN-WATER SWIMMING IN THE UK? IN SCOTLAND, SIMILAR TO RAMBLERS’ RIGHT TO ROAM, SWIMMERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO SWIM IN OPEN SPACES. HOWEVER, THE LAW IN ENGLAND AND WALES IS LESS CLEAR”