Top Wild Swimming Spots Day Trips from Birmingham
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Wild Swimming Spots Day Trips from Birmingham include Blake Mere Mermaid Pool, Three Shires Head, Cheese Wharf, Olney Pool, Calver Weir, Buscot Weir, Harper's Brook and Mermaid's Pool.
Birmingham may sit far from any wild swimming water, but a whole ring of tempting spots lies within a day's drive, in almost every direction. The nearest are north, up in the hills: Blake Mere on the Staffordshire moors and Three Shires Head, Calver Weir and Mermaid's Pool in the Peak District, each a proper day out among the moors and dales.
Head south instead and the young River Thames offers gentler swimming at Cheese Wharf near Lechlade and Buscot Weir in Oxfordshire, deep in soft pastoral country. To the east and southeast lie quieter river spots, the Swimming Steps at Olney on the Great Ouse and Harper's Brook in the Northamptonshire fields.
None of these is a quick dash from the city; every one is a full day out, so set off early, pack a picnic and make the most of it. Whether you fancy a cold moorland plunge or a lazy afternoon by a Thames weir, there is plenty to choose from.
Here are eight wild swimming spots for a day trip from Birmingham.
Blake Mere Mermaid Pool
Photo: John H Darch via Geograph.org.uk
Visit the Blake Mere Mermaid Pool North of the city on the high moorland ridge of Morridge, above Leek, Blake Mere is a small, dark pool better known as the Mermaid Pool. It is a lonely, roughly circular sheet of peat-stained water, set in bleak, boggy ground near an old moorland inn, with wide views over the surrounding hills.
For all its size it carries a long thread of legend: it is said to be haunted by a mermaid, tied to a tale of a woman drowned here, and was long thought bottomless, though it proved quite shallow. The water is said never to freeze and never to dry up.
A wild, windswept, slightly eerie place.
Three Shires Head
Photo: Graham Hogg via Geograph.org.uk
Swim at Three Shires Head Further north on Axe Edge Moor, high in the Peak District, Three Shires Head is where Cheshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire meet on the upper River Dane. An old stone packhorse bridge crosses the river above a run of pools and small waterfalls, the largest known as Panniers Pool and a well-loved place for a swim in cold moorland water.
No road reaches it: you walk in along old packhorse tracks, often from a lay-by a mile or two away. It is a wild, remote meeting of ways with no facilities, so carry what you need and be ready for the chill of the water.
Cheese Wharf
Photo: Steve Daniels via Geograph.org.uk
Find Cheese Wharf on the Thames Swing south to the young River Thames near Lechlade and you reach Cheese Wharf, on the road toward Buscot. A grassy glade opens onto a deep pool on a bend of the river, with an old concrete wharf on the bank and a rope swing over the water.
The name recalls the days when cheese was loaded onto barges here to travel downriver to London. It is a quiet, low-key stretch of the Thames while the river is still small, a gentle contrast to the moorland pools further north.
A peaceful choice for a warm afternoon well south of Birmingham.
Olney Pool
Photo: Michael Trolove via Geograph.org.uk
Discover Olney Pool on the Great Ouse Away to the southeast, Olney Pool lies on the River Great Ouse beside the market town of Olney in Buckinghamshire, known locally as the Swimming Steps. A curved run of stone steps set into the bank gives an easy way in and out of the river, reached on foot along the riverside from the church or across the meadow from the recreation ground.
It is a well-liked spot for a summer dip on a quiet, green reach of the Ouse, with open floodplain and the church tower nearby. There are no facilities at the water, so come prepared for a simple day by the river.
Calver Weir
Photo: Peter Barr via Geograph.org.uk
Explore Calver Weir on the Derwent Back north in the Peak District, Calver Weir steps the River Derwent in a broad curve beside a tall old cotton mill in Derbyshire. Built of local gritstone, it holds a calm reach above and sends the water down in a wide sheet below the mill it once powered.
The present weir dates from the eighteen-forties and was close to collapse before a community project restored it, finishing around 2010. Now it is a handsome riverside feature, with a fish pass alongside, and the calm water is used informally by swimmers and paddlers.
The wooded Derwent valley and towering mill make a memorable backdrop.
Buscot Weir
Photo: Des Blenkinsopp via Geograph.org.uk
Swim at Buscot Weir on the upper Thames Back on the upper Thames, this weir sits by the little National Trust village of Buscot in Oxfordshire, near Lechlade. Water tips over a small fall into a broad, slow pool below, its grassy banks and meadow long a favourite for a warm-day river swim.
The scene is soft and pastoral, willows leaning over water meadows with the old stone village at hand. People gather to swim, paddle and picnic in the calm water above and below the fall, and a car park and tea room lie only a short stroll away, making for an easy day out.
Harper's Brook
Photo: Michael Garlick via Geograph.org.uk
Seek out Harper's Brook in Northamptonshire East into Northamptonshire, Harper's Brook is a small tributary of the River Nene, rising near Desborough and winding through Brigstock and a string of villages. Near its end, where it meets the Nene toward Wadenhoe, it is used as a wild-swimming spot, the narrow brook tumbling through glades before opening into the river.
It is an informal place with no facilities, lined by quiet farmland and old villages along its course. This is a low-key, out-of-the-way choice rather than a headline spot, but a peaceful one for those willing to make the drive from Birmingham and seek it out.
Mermaid's Pool
Photo: Peter McDermott via Geograph.org.uk
Find Mermaid's Pool on Kinder Scout Furthest of all, Mermaid's Pool is a small, dark peaty pool on the western flank of Kinder Scout, below the waterfall of Kinder Downfall in the Peak District. It sits out on open moorland with no facilities, reached only on foot over boggy ground, usually from Hayfield.
By legend a mermaid lives in the pool and shows herself only around Easter; anyone she favours is said to gain everlasting life, while the unlucky may be drawn under. The old stories even claim the water is salty and joined to the sea by a hidden passage, though that is folklore rather than fact.
FAQs
How far are the wild swimming spots from Birmingham?
Every spot in this guide is a full day out. The nearest, Blake Mere on the Staffordshire moors, is about seventy-four kilometres north of Birmingham, and the furthest, Mermaid's Pool on Kinder Scout, is over a hundred, so set off early.
Which spots suit a gentler, family-friendly day?
The Thames weirs are the easiest. Buscot Weir near Lechlade has a car park, a tea room and calm water for paddling, while Olney Pool on the Great Ouse offers stone steps into a quiet river, both far gentler than the Peak District pools.
Are any of these swimming spots tied to local legend?
Two are. Both Blake Mere near Leek and Mermaid's Pool on Kinder Scout are said to be home to a mermaid, and each carries old tales of drownings and hidden depths that make the drive from Birmingham all the more intriguing.
Conclusion
Landlocked Birmingham asks a little more of its wild swimmers than most cities, since every one of these spots is a genuine full day out rather than a quick evening dip. Yet that is part of the appeal.
To the north lie cold Peak District pools and moorland tarns steeped in legend; to the south, gentle Thames weirs made for lazy afternoons; and to the east, quiet river spots in the fields of Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. Wherever you head, set off early, pack food and warm layers, and remember that moorland water runs cold and can rise after rain.
Treat these places gently and carry your litter home. From the Peak to the Thames, these are the wild swimming spots for a day trip from Birmingham.
