I talked about the Tales from the River and Healing Waters (Outdoor Swimming) projects, access for swimming and other related issues, and how important it was that recreation and heritage in the Brecks and the fen edge were part of any future partnership work in the area.
Artist and place-maker Timo Peach spoke to some key people working in the unique landscape – both natural and cultural – of the Brecks, starting with an episode explaining the Brecks and partnership so far, and exploring the theme of Resilience. Find out more from the Brecks website: report of conference on BFER and the future partnership, where you can download the PDF 9.3 MB Brecks Field Guide to Resilience for more detail.
Brandon Staunch October 2025; December 2024
Timo interviewed me for episode 5 of these podcasts marking the BFER projects and thinking ahead to the future Brecks partnership. At the popular river recreation spot, Brandon Staunch, we discussed the importance of water in one of the driest regions of the UK. We spoke of the two projects I ran, one collecting and sharing oral histories of river recreation and the other introducing people to outdoor swimming, and other involvements including the Industrious Rivers project.
Summary of our discussion:
- how I discovered outdoor swimming and started doing historical and oral history research
- how river access and generational knowledge of rivers has deteriorated over the last fifty years
- the recent cultural rediscovery of the joys and benefits of outdoor swimming
- how outdoor swimming today connects people to local heritage and wildlife
- how many people tried outdoor swimming for the first time and its impact for them
- the differing feelings of swimming alone and in community
- the stories of some of the people involved in these projects
- what I want to see in the future partnership.
I emphasised how crucial it is to recognise recreation and the widest range of people engaging with rivers, waterways and the landscape in any future Brecks and fen edge partnership, how cultural history is linked with the present and the future, and how we need to be able to immerse in and have access to those waterways to fully engage with and care for them.
All the podcasts are available on Spotify, Apple and Pocket Casts.
Episode 5: Brecks interview on history and practice of outdoor swimming in the Brecks:
- Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/episode/2KXuK1HyloEEe1Cz2etcjJ?si=iOVlOnw-SuScSApgEoP-ww
- Apple : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-5-the-watery-brecks-with-imogen-radford/id1850695032?i=1000739247496
- Pocket Casts web-listening service : https://pca.st/g89xyqe3
Find the other interviews, including with James Parry, chair and founder of Breckland Society, focusing especially on the often overlooked social and cultural history of the Brecks and fen edge, with Tina Cunnell, chair of BFER and Brandon Town Council town clerk, previously Thetford town clerk, on the connection between people and landscape and river and more, and with Lou Mayer, Environment Agency, including on the importance of a river to its local community including reference to outdoor swimming.
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