As the warmer weather creeps in so does the city dweller's yearning for the perfect wild swimming spot.
The Bristol area has seen an ongoing battle for nearby wild swimming spots. Last summer swimmers staged a ‘protest dip’ in Bristol Harbour to encourage Bristol City Council to change its mind on the swimming ban. Hotspots like Warleigh Weir and Clevedon Marine Lake are often favoured but face issues with contamination during the warmer weather.
Just one mile away from Clifton Suspension Bridge, Abbots Pool has experienced worse problems despite swimming being prohibited. The large wooded area in Abbots Leigh, North Somerset, has attracted people from far and wide for years - but its popularity escalated rapidly during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Tom Walmsley of the Abbots Leigh Wildlife Group (ALWG) attributed this rise in popularity in part due to the media coverage of the swimmers during the first lockdown back in 2020. He estimated up to 300 cars were driving to the nature reserve each day that summer, in a space that can barely accommodate more than 12 cars.
North Somerset Council remains the owner of the nature reserve in recent times. Although it has a history spanning back to the medieval times, researcher Claude Hitching states the site was purchased by Bristol tobacco magnate Walter Melville Wills around 1915, who maintained ownership until his death in 1941, leaving it to the council.
While wild swimming was never actively encouraged in the pool it wasn’t made an offence until April 2021. At the time, Councillor Mike Bell said: "We are aware that good weather has attracted people to the pool in recent days and want to remind people that swimming there is no longer allowed.”
North Somerset Council enforced new orders to include no swimming at Abbots Pool nature reserve after it was forced to fence it off in the summer of 2020 following concerns for public health, issues with environmental damage and anti-social behaviour. The new Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) meant swimming, bathing, wading or jumping into the pool is prohibited, including using boats, dinghies, canoes, sailboards or inflatables in or on the water. Dogs are also banned from entering the water.
Failure to comply with the PSPO is a criminal offence where you could face a fine or prosecution . This is difficult to enforce, however, with limited resources meaning the area is rarely policed.
Martin Walker, Vice Chairman of the Abbots Leigh Parish Council, helps to oversee the protection of the space as Abbots Pool Management Group. The group meets once a month to help clear paths from litter and invasive species such as laurel.
He described the swimming issue as a “constant battle” for the village. “You can’t have people from North Somerset Council there all the time. People ignore the fact there’s a PSPO in place and people continue to swim at all times of the year,” Martin said.
Martin added: “I appreciate it’s hard for people who do want to wild swim but it does wreck the environment. If you ever opened it up to wild swimming you would be completely inundated.
“The fact there’s a PSPO means the numbers are quite significantly reduced from what they would be. If that wasn’t the case, I think the place would be trashed.”
The area is often strewn with litter and even human waste in the warmer season as there are no bins or toilets nearby. Martin, Tom and numerous other volunteers work tirelessly most weekends to protect the area.
Tom said: “There has been around £40,000 of funding and 20 years of man hours of about 20 people almost every Sunday morning trying to rebuild it so it's accessible for people to walk through there and appreciate it and its wildlife habitats.”
Wild swimming in Abbots Pool has potentially catastrophic repercussions on the ecosystems in the area. Suncream that enters the water system contains dangerous chemicals for wildlife and also creates a film over the water, which can kill fish and other species native to the pool. Flea treatment on dogs has a similar devasting effect.
Tom said more awareness needed to be created around the rich biodiversity in the area, which is in decline due to people using the beauty spot for wild swimming. The toad population in the area has shrunk drastically from 10,000 to 400 in less than 30 years.
Abbots Leigh Wildlife Group is working incredibly hard to protect toads that come in spring to mate and lay their strings of eggs underwater, but when amphibians leave they walk downhill and never come back. “Just the noise is scaring off amphibians in a site where there are around four species.”
Abbots Pool is also an important water source, particularly in hot, dry summers, for a lot of animals and birds that inhabit the woodland areas that border the nature reserve. Sarah Pitt of AWGP added: “Deer are shy creatures, like badgers and foxes and will not come to drink if there is disturbance and noise from wild swimmers and masses of visitors.
It’s a crucial nesting site for many birds. “Herons and kingfishers use the Pool to hunt for small native fish and will be scared off by people actually swimming in the water just at a time in summer when they are rearing their young,” she continued.
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There are also 14 species of bats recorded around the nature reserve out of a possible 24 known in Britain, meaning it's a crucial site for the animal biodiversity in the country. Bats are disturbed and deterred by fires and music in the area by people who stay on at the site at nighttime, Tom explained.
Looking at the global picture, Planet Earth has lost 30 per cent of life in 50 years - and 80 per cent would be considered to be a mass extinction. With areas like Abbots Pool in danger education on sustainable lifestyles and protection of green spaces needs to become widespread.
Sarah added: “We welcome people and only ask that visitors respect the pool for the beautiful, peaceful place it is and recognise we are not the only species trying to live out our lives around here. There is great joy to be had from just quietly observing the sounds and sights of nature at Abbots Pool so try it next time you come and leave the swimming cozzie at home!”
