Once you start swimming outdoors you soon realise it is not straightforward. You find you are coming up against issues such as safety and access. Here are some pages on the issues.
Swimming safety
Swim safety in rivers and lakes, and why it is important to be able to and to learn how to do so safely and enjoyably
Drowning prevention campaigns & stats
Swimming after rain and in bad weather
Swimming in Tidal Rivers and Estuaries
Taking responsibility for your own safety is part of the Outdoor Swimmers Code
Download Note: Risks to health and safety of outdoor swimming, and how to mitigate them (Word.doc, 6 pages)
Some pages/notes on risks and benefits of swimming; and more info on risks, finding places, moving on once you get started
Access, legality, landowners
Landowner liability and swimmers
Sixteen reasons why we need UK-wide swimming access in reservoirs
Swimming in clay and gravel lakes (post)
Other advice
Presentation at VSG guidance launch on swimming responsibly and landowners engaging with swimmers
Being a responsible swimmer, for environment, others and your own safety in Outdoor Swimmers Code, and more from OSS on respecting the environment in Swimming without a Trace
Getting Started in Inland Outdoor Swimming
Swimming in the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads with links and notes to download on swimming in tidal rivers, getting started in open water, and places to swim in the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads.
Bathing in the Brecks: Outdoor Swimming past, present & future
There is a separate section on the website, OS Brecks, about two projects on outdoor swimming in the Brecks, with one – Healing Waters – focussing on swim safety and access, and the other – Tales from the River – on history, including swim places. These projects are part of The Brecks Fen Edge & Rivers Landscape Partnership Scheme (BFER), supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.