Boulters to Bray Swim cancelled to protect swimmers' safety amid pollution fears

The Boulters to Bray Swim in Maidenhead has been cancelled over fears the River Thames is unsafe.

Organisers said the event had been called off to protect swimmers’ safety due to concerns with sewage in the water, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The swim, that was set to take place on July 6, sees around 250 participants take to the Thames in a course stretching from Boulters Lock to opposite the Waterside Inn in Bray.

Keith Dixon, trustee from The Boulters to Bray Swim Trust and one of the organisers behind the event, said: “The information we have is that the risks have become incrementally disproportionate.

“Particularly with the heavy rainfall that we’ve had over the winter meaning that there’s a lot more risk in the river now than there ever was or that we’ve faced as a swim before."

The Boulters to Bray Swim tradition dates back to the 19th century, but – other than a year hiatus during COVID – this is the first time it has been cancelled after being was revived in 2012.

“There have been a lot of disappointed people,” said Keith.

“But the general feel is an empathy for the reason we’re doing it and a general reflection as to the current risks in the Thames around where we are – and possibly elsewhere - caused by the massive amounts of sewage are going into it.”

Sewage pollution has made headlines nationally and across Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. 

Earlier this month, TV presenter and naturalist Steve Backshall described the River Thames as a 'biohazard' after seeing results from water samples taken from near Thames Water's sewage treatment works at Little Marlow.

The Royal Borough council has also backed a move to pressure water authorities to do more to combat the issue.

Keith said: “There’s been a lot of press coverage about the amount of sewage that’s going into the river and we’ve done a fair bit of background research ourselves to consider how that’s been increasing - particularly over the last year.

“We’d seen various articles about that, that have highlighted to us that it just does not feel like a safe place to be running an event and for us to be advising people that it’s ok to go in this year.”

In addition to an end to sewage releases, Keith said more transparency was needed about when releases occurred and over the risks.

Organisers have advised refunds would be available for participants in this year’s event and entries could also be deferred to 2025 - which Keith said he was 'hopeful' would go ahead.

“I’m hopeful that over the next year – with all the publicity that people like Steve Backshall and others like ourselves will bring to the issues – we will see a change to [pollution] discharges,” he said.

Thames Water provides a storm discharge map which details when sewage releases are happening across, as well as recent sewage releases.

The company were approached for comment.

We're sorry to announce that the 2024 #BoulterstoBraySwim has been cancelled #RiverThames #openwaterswimming #openwaterswim #RBWM #Maidenhead pic.twitter.com/in4Mg47t54

— Boulters - Bray Swim (@swim_the_thames) April 29, 2024