Bathers took to Swinsty reservoir on Sunday as part of a mass trespass aimed at promoting the right to swim in UK open waters.
It is illegal to swim in Yorkshire Water-owned reservoirs, including Swinsty.
The company and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service issued a joint plea on Friday urging people not to enter reservoirs on safety grounds.
Yorkshire Water estimates 277 accidental drownings occurred in 2021, of which five were in North Yorkshire. Eighty-two percent of the 277 fatalities occurred inland, at reservoirs, lakes and rivers.
Ramblers take part in an annual gathering at Kinder in Derbyshire to mark the 1932 protest that established the right to roam.
But swimmers have taken to the United Utilities-owned Kinder reservoir to exercise “the uncontested right to swim in open water” as part of the protest in the last three years following the boom in wild swimming
Swinsty on Sunday. Pic: Len Downes
Sunday’s gathering at Swinsty in the Washburn Valley took place on the same day as the Kinder trespass.
Kate Rew, founder of the Outdoor Swimming Society, told the Stray Ferret:
“We were there and we communicated to our members about it — but no one organised it, it was a happening.”
Pic: Len Downes
Alastair Harvey, lead countryside and woodland advisor at Yorkshire Water, said last week:
“It is vital those visiting our sites stay out of the water, no matter how tempting it may appear. Cold water shock, undercurrents and operating machinery all pose dangers to people deciding to enter the water.”
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said in a statement:
“Reservoirs can be extremely dangerous and swimming in them can soon become serious, or even fatal – even if you are a strong swimmer.”
Read more:
- Reservoir swimming warning amid planned ‘mass swim’ at Swinsty
- Swinsty and Fewston parking charges to include ‘season ticket’