Since 2021 swimmers have gathered at Kinder Reservoir to claim and celebrate our right to swim in inland waters. In 2024 swims across the country ensured the message was heard far and wide.
On the morning of Sunday 28 April the Peak District awoke to gloomy skies and heavy rain. It was the sort of weather that might have postponed an ordinary swim. But this was the day of the fourth Kinder Swim Trespass, set on the 92nd anniversary of the original protest, so swimmers were busy preparing their placards and packing their most waterproof changing robes. Some even packed their ironing boards – more on that later. All were drawn to Kinder Reservoir by the importance of the location and the date, and in the certainty that others would be there when they arrived.
Hollie Harmsworth
Hollie Harmsworth
Hollie Harmsworth
Hollie Harmsworth
The first Kinder Swim Trespass took place in 2021, when a small band of swimmers took to the water with homemade placards. The following year saw the breakthrough swim on the 90th anniversary of the original protest, as around 400 swimmers enjoyed a sun-drenched afternoon at the reservoir. The swim featured banners, mermaids and a sense that we were watching the protest grow to occupy a permanent spot on the outdoor swimming calendar. The weather wasn’t so kind last year but attendance still swelled to around 500 swimmers, accompanied by a tangible sense of the momentum building behind the cause.
This was the year the protest went nationwide. Trespass swims were planned by local groups, in areas representing the front lines of ongoing access battles. Those who couldn’t make the journey to Kinder, required better accessibility options or simply wanted to be at their local swim spot turned out with placards and banners in hand. What started at Kinder inspired people hundreds of miles away to demand the right to swim in their local waters too.
Hollie Harmsworth
Lance Sagar by Hollie Harmsworth
Hollie Harmsworth
Hollie Harmsworth
Hollie Harmsworth
The rain had almost stopped as people started to gather at Kinder Reservoir’s rocky entrance point. There was no countdown – we simply waited for the least patient swimmer to make the first splash and then it was time to get in. The water was barely over 8 degrees and for most that meant a fairly short swim, though still enough time for a chat with others in the water.
Some of the most interestingly dressed swimmers were a small group of men in umbrella hats and leotard-style swimsuits featuring a pink “NO RULES” slogan. “We’re doing the Polar Bear Challenge!” one tells me. “You have to wear one piece of swimwear, but they don’t say it has to be trunks.” The lady to my left wearily informs me: “I’ve had this for six months”.
Meanwhile OSS Inland Access Lead Imogen Radford was excitedly learning modern slang words from some young walkers and creatives who had travelled from London to join the swim. While interpretations can differ, in this case deep indicated that something was a big deal and cold meant good, a brilliant re-imagining of those warnings of deep and cold water.
People tended to stay after the swim, chatting and sharing food by the edge as the steady procession of arrivals continued. Neither the weather nor the broadening of swim trespass activity to other sites had significantly diminished the activity at Kinder Reservoir itself, with an estimated 300 swimmers turning up throughout the afternoon. Then the extreme ironers arrived.
While some may not remember extreme ironing’s period of fame, what mattered was that it was fun, and just another example of how people are turning up to the reservoir on this anniversary with their interests, passions and personality in tow. There’s a richness to it – you see something new every year, meet new people and reunite with old friends. It’s more than just a swim and it’s more than just a protest too, it’s a gathering point for the community and a milestone in the year.
Imogen Radford
The last swimmers to enter the water were finally treated to some sunshine, the memory of the morning rain fading as our clothes dried out on the banks. Eventually the reservoir was empty again, the polar bears, placard-bearers and impromptu language teachers were making their way home. The ironing boards had been packed away. But even as the protest spreads nationwide, it seems certain they’ll all be back next year, with more new faces, niche hobbies and atypical swimwear choices to share. While there are many important current access battles being fought, the original Kinder Trespass made an indelible mark on our history and that makes this reservoir unique. Deep water indeed.
Let us know if we’ve missed out yours and we can add it. Imogen Radford, inland access lead, has compiled the stories and images sent in from the nationwide Right to Swim trespasses to inspire us to assert the Right to Swim.
Other events during the Kinder Trespass commemoration weekend included signing of the Kinder Pledge at Hayfield 27 April, promoting the Outdoors For All coalition and the Kinder Reservoir Swim Trespass.