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The saying ‘Glasgow made the Clyde and the Clyde made Glasgow’ shows you just how important the river is to local Scots. But however much Glaswegians cherish its waters, you won’t find them swimming in its murky depths.
Dark, dirty and, thanks to heavy metals and pollution, often dangerous, the Clyde is no place for wild swimming aficionados and their snuggly dryrobes and Wim Hof-method breathing. But that could all change thanks to a new campaign.
In recent years, urban bathing has exploded in popularity across the UK. Just last week, plans were unveiled to transform a gasworks in south London into an outdoor pool, while Liverpudlians have been splashing about in the city’s Princes Dock for a few years now. It’s not just a British thing, either: Paris made the Seine swimmable in time for the 2024 Olympics, while Rome hopes to welcome swimmers back to the River Tiber within five years.
Could the same happen to Glasgow’s iconic Clyde? A group of locals hopes so, having launched a campaign to clean up the waterway – with their wet suits at the ready.
As first reported by Glasgow Bell last week, Jude Barber, one of the campaigners, has helped set up a round table in February to explore plans to make Glasgow a swimmable city. Barber has teamed up with author Louise Welch to explore how Glasgow can be added to the ranks of cities that have cleaned up their waterways and turned them into urban swimming spots.
But don’t get ahead of yourselves, aquatic enthusiasts. It’s not quite time to put your trunks on yet. Next month’s round table will help establish a route to making the Clyde swimmable, but you certainly shouldn’t have a dip yet. Restricted access, polluted water and strong undercurrents all make for a formidable list of reasons why you shouldn’t be taking a dive in Glasgow’s river right now.
‘I want to stress that swimming in the city centre is not an option at the moment; it is way too dangerous,’ Barber told the Bell.
Plans that are being floated (get it) to kickstart swimming in the Clyde include a naturalised river bank opposite Custom House Quay which could land Glasgow with its first urban beach. Govan Graving Docks has also hinted at a riverside park with space for houseboats to moor and access to the water for swimmers. You can read the Bell’s full piece on the campaign here.
For those unable to wait for the Clyde to become swimming-friendly, there are other open-water swim spots in Glasgow. Pinkston Watersports has water which is pumped into a 145-metre-long, 28-metre-wide basin from the canal – perfect for practicing your backstroke to your heart’s content. Or there is, of course, nearby Loch Lomond, just 40 minutes away, or Dumbrock Loch, a 20-minute journey.
For more wild swimming spots in the UK, check out a list of the best here.
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