FEATURE
RIGHT TO ROAM
Access to outdoor spaces has long been a controversial topic in England and Wales. Lydia Paleschi speaks to Imogen Radford from the Outdoor Swimming Society’s Inland Access Group to shine a light on the legalities around swimming and trespassing so you can swim in confidence
“Outdoor swimmers in England and Wales have considerable difficulty with access”, says Imogen. While there is a clear right to swim in the sea around the UK coastline, swimmers are often less clear on their position when accessing inland waters including rivers and lakes. The OSS Inland Access Group – a voluntary organisation – aims to share knowledge and provide support for maintaining access to inland swimming spots in England and Wales for swimmers and landowners.
ACCESS TO INLAND WATERS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
According to Imogen, when it comes to inland swimming in England and Wales, “the legal position is very unclear.” There are different rules for different bodies of water and in some instances, accessing a body of water it is legal to swim in may require trespassing across land. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW), which outlines provision for public access to the countryside, omitted inland waters from its scope completely. Other waters, including reservoirs, should be available for swimmers but are not. “When reservoirs were privatised the water companies were given a legal duty to provide recreation on the land and water”, says Imogen. “But in practice most of them don’t permit swimming, using safety as an excuse… In the case of rivers, it is easier, because there is a lot of evidence showing that you have a right to go there.” However, because of the ambiguities around access, many swimmers don’t think they have the right to swim. When I ask what this means in practicality for swimmers in England and Wales, Imogen tells me: “the problem is that when people don’t understand [the law] they don’t feel they have the right [to swim]. The presumption is the wrong way around and swimmers are influenced by those presumptions”.