London to get its first official bathing area on the River Thames

An idyllic stretch of river at Ham and Kingston could become London’s first river bathing site on the Thames, thanks to incredible efforts from clean water campaigners – including our very own Simon Griffiths!

You might see Outdoor Swimmer founder Simon Griffiths pop up on your news feed a few times today, featured alongside fellow campaigners who are delighted that London is to get its first official bathing area on the River Thames from May.

Thames-side resident Simon, who swims in the river nearly every day and has been an ardent campaigner against water pollution for many years, is thrilled at the recent announcement that the site at Ham and Kingston will be London’s first designated bathing site on the Thames.

“I’m really excited by this news,” says Simon. “It’s the result of hard work by a community group led by Rebecca Mole (pictured top) – a local Blue Tit swimmer. We put in the application for bathing water status last October and it is now among 13 other proposed sites that will go through to community consultation. Usually, any site that gets through to this stage then becomes a designated site, so this is super good news for the Thames. The more spots we can get like this along the river, the more it highlights the value of the Thames as a natural resource everyone can use and benefit from.”

An official bathing spot on the Thames in London would mark a “vast transformation” in water quality in the river which was declared biologically dead in the 1950s due to pollution, officials said.

Alongside this Thames site are 12 other new designated swimming sites proposed by the government, including a stretch of river in the area that inspired The Wind In The Willows and the filming location for TV drama Broadchurch. The plans would increase the number of England’s official bathing sites to 464.

Ramping up the pressure

Designation would mean that the sites would undergo routine water quality testing. Campaigners have said they hope this would add pressure to improve the cleanliness of rivers and coastal waters.

Water minister Emma Hardy said rivers and beaches were “at the heart of so many communities, where people come together, families make memories and swimmers of all ages feel the benefits of being outdoors safely”.

We all know how good outdoor swimming is for your health, wellbeing and community interaction, so it’s just so exciting it’s getting that recognition,” Simon added. “It’s an additional lever we can use against the polluters. Firstly it enforces the monitoring of the water quality, and if the quality isn’t sufficient, it pushes water companies like Thames Water to put in place an improvement plan to set out how they’re going to improve the water quality, and take action to do that. Hopefully it’s another step to cleaning up the Thames and making it a super swimming highway.”

Keep your ears peeled for Simon on the radio today – he will be speaking to various broadcasters, including the BBC and The Times Radio about these exciting developments for open water swimming and the health of our blue spaces.