Swimming around Bristol, with Stanley Ulijaszek

There is a lot of good swimming to be had in the Bristolregion, with several vibrant and active outdoor swimming scenes in the region - in the city itself, but also in the nearby River Avon, in the River Brue, in the Avon estuary, and in the sea at sand point. If you can go a mile or ten out of Bristol there is a lot of choice - at Weston Super Mare there are several lido beaches to choose. River swimming at Bradford upon Avon (the river Avon upstream) is a scenic delight. People really care about their swimming here. Thesetwo accounts of swimming around Bristol are extracts from my book ‘Memories like Water – Swimming in 65 places at the age of 65’. They took place as pandemic lockdowns eased in 2020, which gave them a surreal edge – can wereally swim together again? At Cleveden Marine Lake, and at Farleigh and District River Swimming Club, just south of Bath.