Wild swimming UK: Here are the designated bathing water sites in Yorkshire and the rest of the UK
This means that during the bathing water season, which runs between May 15 and September 30, these areas will be monitored by the Environment Agency (EA).
The EA will monitor the water quality at the sites and provide a rating which assesses whether action is needed to cut pollution levels.
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Hide AdIf you’re searching for places to swim in Yorkshire, we now have three designated bathing spots.
The River Wharfe at Wetherby Riverside and the River Nidd at the Lido Leisure Park in Knaresborough are both designated bath spots, as well as the Wharfe at Cromwheel, Ilkley, which three years ago became the first designated river bathing site in England.
Here are the recently announced bathing sites in the UK:
Church Cliff beach, Lyme Regis, Dorset
Coastguards beach, River Erme, Devon
Coniston boating centre, - Coniston Water, Cumbria
Coniston Brown Howe, Coniston Water, Cumbria
Derwent Water at Crow Park, Keswick, Cumbria
Goring beach, Worthing, West Sussex
Littlehaven beach, Tyne and Wear
Manningtree beach, Essex
Monk Coniston, Coniston Water, Cumbria
River Avon at Fordingbridge, Hampshire
River Cam at Sheep’s Green, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
River Dart estuary at Dittisham, Devon
River Dart estuary at Steamer Quay, Totnes, Devon
River Dart estuary at Stoke Gabriel, Devon
River Dart estuary at Warfleet, Dartmouth, Devon
River Frome at Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset
River Nidd at the Lido leisure park in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire
River Ribble at Edisford Bridge, Lancashire
River Severn at Ironbridge, Shropshire
River Severn at Shrewsbury, Shropshire
River Stour at Sudbury, Suffolk
River Teme at Ludlow, Shropshire
River Tone in French Weir Park, Taunton, Somerset
River Wharfe at Wetherby Riverside, High St, Wetherby, West Yorkshire
Rottingdean beach, Rottingdean, East Sussex
Wallingford beach, River Thames, Oxfordshire
Worthing Beach House, Worthing, West Sussex
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Hide AdThe Environment Agency will now conduct weekly testing at all of the bathing water sites for the duration of the 2024 bathing water season.
The government says that they work with local communities to improve the water quality. Last year, 96 per cent of bathing waters in England met the minimum standards, with 90 per cent classified as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, up from 76 per cent in 2010, despite the classification standards becoming stricter in 2015.
Water Minister Robbie Moore said that the sites are integral to the health and wellbeing of certain communities.
He said: “These popular swimming spots will now undergo regular monitoring to ensure bathers have up-to-date information on the quality of the water and enable action to be taken if minimum standards aren’t being met.
I am fully committed to seeing the quality of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes rise further for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses them.”
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