A trial open water swimming session at Carsington Water attracted over 200 participants.

The session was organised by Severn Trent and experienced event company, Pacesetter Events.

Hosted from 6.30pm - 8.30pm, the session gave swimmers their first ever opportunity to swim in a Severn Trent reservoir, with a carefully selected route of one mile taking them around Carsington’s Stones Island.

Donna Marshall, Visitor Engagement Manager at Severn Trent said: “While the weather was a bit on the gloomy side, we had over 200 people turn up for this trial swim session which was absolutely fantastic.

“Pacesetter Events were fantastic in lending their expertise to help us set up and operate this session, with a brilliant safety team out on the water and a clearly defined route around Stones Island.

“We’re now going to explore whether we can include more managed swimming events at Carsington Water and hopefully add them to our calendar in the future.”

While the open swimming event has been a success, Severn Trent’s position remains that people should not enter the water at reservoirs unless taking part in a managed and organised event. 

Reservoirs contain a number of dangers that could result in even experienced swimmers getting into difficulty, including very cold water even on a hot day, hidden dangers beneath the surface and unseen currents due to them being operational bodies of water and can have soft, muddy banks.

Donna continued: “Reservoirs can be really dangerous places so it's important that people only ever enter the water to take part in a managed, organised event with a pre-defined route and all the right safety support in place. We want everyone who visits our reservoirs to have a brilliant time, but nothing’s more important than making sure that everyone is safe which is always our first priority.”

Pacesetter Events delivers a diverse and exciting portfolio of events at a range of exclusive venues across the Midlands and east of England, including one of the largest open water swim series in the UK, classic running events and iconic triathlons.

Paul Cowling from Pacesetter Events, said: “Carsington Water is an absolutely perfect location for this kind of event, with a beautiful setting and loads of on-site parking and amenities. Everyone had a fantastic time, with some swimmers opting to do multiple loops of the course.

“We’ve worked really closely with Severn Trent to find safe swimming routes on the reservoir and to test whether this could be an event that could be offered more regularly in the future.”

Carsington was chosen as the location for the trial as it has the on-site infrastructure needed – including car parking and toilets – is well staffed and has consistently met the water quality testing requirements needed for swimming.

For more information or to register to take part in the session, visit www.pacesetterevents.com/carsington.