About

I like swimming in rivers. I did it as a child. It was natural to swim and play in my local river when the weather was hot.

I rediscovered river swimming in  September 2012, from reading Roger Deakin’s Waterlog (find on Amazon). I am revisiting places where he swam and discovering places others swim, and finding new places myself. Here you can download a list of Places Roger Deakin swam in East Anglia (Word.doc, 1 page).

Most are rivers – because I love river swimming, and I am also exploring all different types of lakes and occasionally the sea. And I am swimming throughout the year. I should really call most of these dips rather than swims as I don’t usually go far. I also do swim journeys, series of dips with a theme or in an area, such as my A12 and London and west journeys in 2016 to remember my parents.

In 2019 I did six months of swim safaris in different parts of East Anglia to celebrate the year I become 60, to meet swimmers and discover new swim spots, and to promote the wonderful and varied outdoor swimming we have in the region. Read about the trips in the Swims section.

This website is for me to share the places I swim and my experiences of swimming, in Places and Swims. And to share info on related Issues, especially on access to places to swim and all the issues surrounding that. It has become increasingly clear to me that we need to Go Swimming and to campaign for a Right to Swim.

See an interview on this website and on YouTube from December 2023, in which I outlined some of the issues, as well as talking about my own swimming, Bluetonic online chat: swimming and access.

Please note: all swims are at our own risk. Including a location or reporting a swim does not indicate that it is safe; we must do our own risk assessment. Swim Safety info and links on this website.

I am keen to encourage outdoor swimming with an understanding of keeping yourself safe, and expanded access, and also to explore the history, so am delighted to be leading on two exciting new projects about outdoor swimming in the Brecks. These projects, Tales from the River and Healing Waters, are part of The Brecks Fen Edge & Rivers Landscape Partnership Scheme (BFER), supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Find me on social media:

Twitter: @ImogenRadford

Instagram: @RadfordImogen

Facebook: @ImogenRadford

Or in relation to the separate section of the website on the Brecks projects:

@OSBrecks

woman in swim suit in summer
Imogen swimming in river Bure, near Burgh-next-Aylsham
woman in wetsuit in red hat in choppy water
Me swimming in the early days

Both photos by Anita

swimmer holding placard “Go Swimming” with blue sky and water behind
Me in November 2023

swims and swim places, and related issues