Chollerford bridge

Lovely swim spot. There is a section of flat ground at the waters edge about 50m up river from the bridge that allows easy access to the water. The river flow was very gentle after recent dry weather. So very easy swimming. Obviously check the flow rate when you swim and swim in the shallower water near shore where the flow rate will be less if the river is fast. Lovely swim.

Potentially very strong currents. We were going to swim here early summer. When we turned up there was a local swim group who were well experienced. They were swimming as hard as they could against the current and not moving. We waved from the bank and all had a good laugh at the current strength. I’ll return again when the current is lower as it looks like a lovely spot.

Relatively easy parking north of the bridge. Access is pretty straightforward on the south side of the bridge. Just keep following the trail for about 5 minutes and you’ll find a nice, shaded spot to hop in. The current is usually gentle and there’s a great café nearby for a post swim coffee and pie.