Wild Swimming at Wain Wath Force, Keld, North Yorkshire

There are some swim spots where getting into the water is only a small part of the day.

Wain Wath Force, just outside Keld in North Yorkshire, is one of those places.

You are able to see the force from the road, which does lead to the temptation of just parking nearby to have a quick dip, but I decided to park in Keld and walk to it instead.

Partly because it made more of a day of it and I wanted to see what Keld had to offer, but also because I’m increasingly conscious of the impact that popular outdoor swimming spots can have on the small communities around them.

When somewhere appears on Instagram, in a guidebook or on a wild swimming map, it can suddenly become very busy. What might look like a convenient bit of roadside parking to us can be access that a farmer needs, a passing place so locals can get on with their day, or simply somebody’s daily route.

So, where possible, I think it’s worth thinking beyond simply getting as close to the water as you can.

Getting to Wain Wath Force

Wain Wath Force sits on the River Swale, around a kilometre upstream from Keld.

Its name gives a little clue to the history of the place too. “Wain” refers to a wagon, “wath” is a ford and “force” is a northern English word for a waterfall. So it basically means waterfall near a wagon crossing.

I do enjoy looking at the history of words. It’s like peeking behind the historical curtain to what it was like before.

It isn’t an enormous waterfall, at around 1.5 metres high, but it spreads attractively across the River Swale and has a broad pool beneath it, which is where I had my swim.

Rather than trying to squeeze the car into one of the small roadside spaces close to the falls, I parked in Keld at the honesty box Park Lodge car park at Rukins Campsite. It’s a really decent car park with good toilet facilities and can be found at ///sprays.wound.panting. £3 for half a day, £5 for all day.

There’s also something quite nice about having to earn your swim a little.

The walk

The walk from Keld gives you time to take in the landscape rather than simply arriving, changing and getting straight into the water.

And even if walking isn’t normally the bit you’re interested in, there is a benefit to having that bit of exercise either side of a cold swim.

By the time you’ve walked to the water, you’ve generated a bit of heat. Getting into the river then feels beautifully cool and refreshing.

On the way back, it works in reverse.

Rather than standing around and then getting straight into your car, you have the walk back to Keld to do, which takes around 20 minutes along the road with a little bit of hill thrown in.

Your circulation increases, your body begins generating heat again and gradually you start to feel properly warm.

It’s one of those small things that makes the whole swim feel a bit more rounded.

Swimming at Wain Wath Force

The water at Wain Wath Force is striking.

On my visit it had a reddish tint to it, but was still remarkably clear, particularly when you looked down into the shallower sections.

The waterfall itself creates a lovely backdrop and the pool beneath it is broad enough to give you that sense of being properly in the landscape rather than simply standing in a small plunge pool.

As ever with moving water, conditions matter.

A waterfall and river that look gentle one day can behave very differently after heavy rainfall, so this isn’t somewhere I’d approach with a fixed idea that you are definitely going to swim.

Have a look when you arrive.

Watch the flow.

Look at where you can comfortably get in and, more importantly, where you can get back out.

Cold water swimming doesn’t need to be about proving anything. Sometimes the right decision is a swim, sometimes it’s a quick dip and occasionally it’s standing on the bank with a flask thinking, “Not today.”

The river will still be there another time.

A swim spot is more than the water

One of the things I’m increasingly enjoying about travelling to different swim spots is everything around the swim itself.

The walk.

The landscape.

The little villages you pass through.

And, obviously, the important post swim question: where are we getting something to eat?

After Wain Wath Force I stopped at Keld Green Cafe, which rounded the whole outing off rather nicely.

The village had lots of creative scarecrows on display and Keld Green Cafe had a lovely waitress. There was seating inside or outside, so I chose to continue enjoying the scenery and stay outside with my order. And because I was in Yorkshire, I ordered Yorkshire brack with Wensleydale cheese. Which, if you haven’t tried it, is exactly the sort of slightly unexpected regional combination that makes complete sense once you do.

Stopping in Keld also meant there was an opportunity to put a little money back into the village.

Buy the coffee.

Have the cake.

Use the car park.

Visit the local shop.

It doesn’t have to be much, but collectively those choices matter.

Enjoying places responsibly

Wild swimming has grown enormously in popularity, and with that comes a bit of responsibility.

None of us owns these places simply because we’ve discovered a particularly beautiful bit of water.

People live and work here.

Farmers need access.

Local residents still need to be able to use their roads.

Wildlife needs space.

And the next swimmer should ideally arrive to find the place exactly as we did.

Where there are proper car parks, use them rather than blocking verges, gateways or narrow roads. Take everything home with you and, where you can, spend a little money locally.

It doesn’t make the adventure any less spontaneous.

If anything, I think slowing down and walking into a swim spot makes you notice it more.

Wain Wath Force gave me one of those days made up of lots of small good things.

The walk through the Yorkshire countryside. Wondering what the landscape must have looked like years ago. The clear, red-tinged water. Sitting back with a cuppa after the swim and watching the seasonal change in the trees.

Then Yorkshire brack and Wensleydale cheese to finish.

Not to go all Wallace and Gromit on you, but it were crackin’.

And that, more than anything, is what I’ll remember about it.

If you fancy a little more swim inspiration, have a wander through the other wild swimming stories and locations on the blog. You might just find your next dip.