Why can’t you swim in reservoirs? They look so cool and inviting and are often the only open bodies of water available in certain parts of the country. And yet swimming is prohibited in the majority of them. The answer usually offered is that they are dangerous, cold, deep, that there are underwater structures and machines that could injure you or suck you under the water.
The strange thing is that this answer only applies in England and Wales, not Scotland, where reservoir swimming is common. Access to inland waters in Scotland is enshrined by law: my local group in West Lothian is full of dippers chatting about their adventures in the nearby reservoirs in the Pentland Hills and beyond. They swap tips on access points, currents and so on – just as they do when discussing a dip in the Forth or our local lakes and lochs.
It is generally accepted in Scotland that you swim at your own risk: the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, published in 2005, explains that ‘there is a longstanding legal principle called “volenti non fit injuria” which means that a person taking access will generally be held to have accepted any obvious risks or risks which are inherent in the activities they are undertaking’.
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