Outdoor Swimmer  |  July 23
For a time, I never really understood river swimming. Rivers are weedy, sometimes dirty and when I was younger I was warned to stay away from them. But when I started swimming events, I needed somewhere to train that wasn’t a pool and the River Thames became my training place.
Rivers can be wild and bubbling, wide and meandering or shallow and cool. Swimmers have shared river swims with me, special spots that became regular places of relief or play. The broadcaster and vicar, Kate Bottley once told me that the river was where you wash worries downstream and there are many swimmers who feel the same. Maybe you love a river swim, or perhaps you have been put off by recent media reports of the state of our waterways? Either way this
issue will inspire, enhance, or reignite a love of rivers.
Check out the piece from The Rivers Trust about how we can help care for our waterways and learn about Yvette Tetteh’s epic 450km swim down the Volta river system in Ghana. Unsure on how best to swim in rivers? Head to our training pages.
Also, in this issue we meet Patrick Barkham who has written a biography about wild swimmer Roger Deakin and I head to Walnut Tree Farm for a swim in Roger’s moat!
Enjoy the issue,
Ella Foote, Editor
read more
read less
Outdoor Swimmer magazine exists to help you make the most of swimming outdoors.
If you want to boost your confidence in open water, improve your swimming, discover new swimming events and locations, and stay up to date with what’s happening in outdoor swimming, join our global community of swimmers today. We’re committed to:
Helping you expand your swimming horizons and reach your swimming goals
Showing you the best places to swim, from quick dips to long-distance challenges
Keeping you safe in the water and helping you access the health and wellbeing benefits of outdoor swimming
Answering your questions on swimming technique and training
Reporting on and supporting campaigns for cleaner water and better access for swimmers
- Guarantee of inspiring outdoor swimming features and advice
- Free access to the Swimrunner supplement
- Links to the latest downstream podcast created by the team behind Outdoor Swimmer
- Easy to read, mobile friendly magazine
You'll receive 12 issues during a 1 year Outdoor Swimmer magazine subscription.
Note: Digital editions do not include the covermount items or supplements you would find with printed copies.
Articles in this issue
Below is a selection of articles in Outdoor Swimmer July 23.