Wild Swimming Spots in Gentle River Bends

Why the gentlest water is usually around a bend

Rivers seldom run straight for long. Where a channel curves, the current swings outwards and the geometry does the rest of the work for you. On the outside of the bend the water runs faster and cuts deeper, undercutting the bank and carrying sediment away. On the inside, the flow slackens, loses its grip on what it has been carrying, and deposits it as a gravel spit or a low sand shelf.

That shallow inside curve is the swimmer's friend. You get a gradual slope into the water rather than a plunge, a natural gravel beach to stand on while you get your breath, and depth a few steps out without much pull against you. Add dappled shade from an alder or two and you have one of the loveliest ways to spend a summer afternoon in Britain.

It is also easy to be lulled. Gentle bends sit in the same rivers as weirs, cattle drinks and flood debris, and inland water is colder and more variable than most people expect. A little reconnaissance turns a lovely idea into a safe one.

Reading the bend before you get in

Give yourself ten minutes on the bank doing nothing but looking. Learn the shape of the water before you trust it with your weight.

• Outside of the bend: faster, deeper, often with an undercut bank. Beautiful to look at, awkward to climb out of, and not the place to enter or exit unless you know it well.
• Inside of the bend: shallower and slower, with a gravel or sand shelf. This is usually your entry and exit point, though the shelf can drop away sharply a few strides out.
• Weirs, sluices and mill races: avoid entirely. A weir can hold you in a recirculating stopper that feels like a washing machine and gives you nothing to push against. Even a low, innocent-looking weir deserves respect.
• Strainers: fallen trees, root balls and branches that the current pushes through rather than around. They trap swimmers against them. Look for them upstream and downstream of your chosen bend.
• Confluences and cattle drinks: where a tributary joins, the flow, depth and temperature can change over a few metres, and the bank is often poached into deep, slippery mud.

Choosing an entry and exit you can actually use

Pick your exit before you enter, and make sure it is somewhere you could climb out with wet hands and tired arms. Gravel is ideal. Steep clay is a trap — it looks fine dry and behaves like ice when wet. Long grass hides holes and roots, so test the ground carefully with a foot or a stick.

Walk in rather than jump. Shallow water hides submerged rocks, glass and old fishing tackle, and the bottom of a bend can shelve unexpectedly. Sitting down in the shallows and letting the water come to you is a perfectly dignified way to start, and it lets your body adjust to the cold far more comfortably than a plunge.

Note where you would get out if the current picked up, and keep an eye on the river as you swim. A bend that was calm in a dry spell can be running brown and quick after a night of rain somewhere upstream that you never saw.

What to take to a river bend

• A brightly coloured swim cap and, if you are on a bigger or busier river, a tow float. Both make you visible to anglers, canoeists and anyone on the bank.
• Neoprene socks or old trainers. Riverbeds are stony, and cut feet are the most common injury at quiet swimming spots.
• A wetsuit or swimsuit plus warm layers for afterwards — a fleece, a hat, a flask. You cool down fast once you stop moving.
• A phone in a waterproof pouch, and a friend who knows where you are and when to expect you back.
• Nothing you are not prepared to lose. Leave valuables at home or secure them properly.

Never swim alone in unfamiliar inland water

This is the rule that matters more than any other. Cold water shock can steal your breathing and your strength within seconds of entering, and it happens to strong swimmers in familiar-looking rivers on warm days. Go with someone, or at the very least go where others are already in the water and keep to the shallows.

Enter slowly and breathe out steadily. Stay within your depth until you have acclimatised. Avoid rivers after heavy rain, when run-off can carry agricultural and sewage pollution downstream; check for blue-green algae in still, warm summer conditions, and be aware of leptospirosis, which is rare but real and worth covering any cuts for. If you feel cold, shaky or unsure, get out — the swim will still be there another day.

Wildlife, landowners and leaving no trace

River bends are working habitats as well as lovely swimming spots. Between roughly March and July, keep clear of bankside vegetation where birds may be nesting, and in autumn and winter avoid walking on clean gravel beds, which may be salmon and trout redds holding eggs. Stay below the high water mark where you can, park considerately, close gates, and take everything home with you, including the odd bit of litter that was not yours. Swim quietly, leave the bank as you found it, and the gentle bends of Britain's rivers will keep welcoming you back for years.