Wild swimming – or open water swimming – usually means swimming in rivers, lakes, natural pools and the sea (rather than swimming in an indoor or outdoor swimming pool)
Although we don’t have any designated bathing waters in Bradford on Avon, you may see people in the river in Bradford on Avon between May and September, including near Barton Farm country park.
Risks of wild swimming
Wild swimming is different to swimming in swimming pools – and has different risks.
Some of the main risks are:
- the temperature of the water
- water quality
- not knowing what’s under the surface of the water
- not knowing how deep or shallow the water is
- fast-flowing water.
Wild swimming safety tips
As such, the National Water Safety Forum offers tips and advice for wild swimming. You can also download a copy of the forum’s tips.
There’s also Swim Healthy advice on the gov.uk website.
Jumping and diving into unknown water can be dangerous.
Designated bathing waters near Bradford on Avon
There are over 450 designated bathing waters in England. The Environment Agency monitors the water quality in these places between May and September – publishing and sharing the data so people can make informed decisions on when and where to swim and bathe.
The nearest designated bathing waters to the town are:
- Henleaze Lake in Bristol – which is run by the Henleaze Swimming Club
- Farleigh Hungerford – which is run by the Farleigh & District Swimming Club.
Most of the designated bathing waters in England are on the coast.