Are you one of those Londoners gagging to make open water swimming your sole personality trait?
Well, we have good news — a brand new open water swimming venue is opening in the gorgeous Canary Wharf, London.
If you’ve ever fancied a dip in the Thames, you’re in luck, as 600m of swimming space will be open up until September, boasting views of One Canada Square and Newfoundland.
The new venue is opening up as part of partnership between Love Open Water — an established swimming operator — and the Canal & River Trust, who recently celebrated their 10-year anniversary.
To ensure the water is up to scratch, Love Open Water oversee extensive, bi-monthly testing of Canary Wharf’s swimming space to ensure it maintains an ‘Excellent’ rating level according to EU Bathing Standards criteria. This means it is clean and safe to swim in
If you’re just dipping your toes into open swimming, you’ll be pleased to know that the new swimming venue is open to people of all swimming abilities over the age of 10.
The lifeguarded swim sessions are also supported by NOWCA, the UK’s largest network of safe open water venues.
To enjoy the venue, swimmers can purchase a NOWCA membership for £15 a year, which will grant them access to not just Canary Wharf, but over 40 other open swimming locations.
From there, people can take part in the free NOWCA swim events offered regularly or pay £8 per three-to-four-hour open swimming slot. Members can also enhance their experience with the ACTiO app.
Ros Daniels, Canal & River Trust Regional Director for London & South East said: ‘We are pleased to be working in partnership with Canary Wharf Group to licence an area of London Docklands where people can experience open water swimming safely under the supervision of lifeguards and where the water quality will be routinely tested.
‘Unless taking part in a supervised event with all the safety measures in place, our advice is to stay out of the water.
‘The risks of going in unsupervised are very real – the water can be far colder than expected, even on the hottest of days, and objects submerged below the surface can present a very real risk.’
Shobi Khan, CEO, Canary Wharf Group, said: ‘Canary Wharf has over 20 acres of parks, gardens and squares and a key objective is to open up the water for our residents, visitors and business customers to reconnect with nature.’
Rick Kiddle, Founder and CEO of NOWCA added, ‘Our aim is to help make open water more accessible, to more people, and most importantly more safely. We support over 40 venues nationwide with our safety systems and we have worked with Love Open Water for a decade now.
‘We are really excited to be part of this fantastic new venue at Canary Wharf as it will open more swimming possibilities in the East London area.’
So, what are you waiting for? Dive in!
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