SWIMMERS can now take to the water in the open air at a lake straddling the Torfaen-Monmouthshire border.

Welsh Water has opened Llandegfedd Lake to the public for open water swimming sessions.

It is one of the first lakes in South Wales to be open to the public for open water swimming in a safe environment.

The lake, which is 174 hectares and a major water supplier to cities, now offers four public sessions per week in a designated area.

People can book to take part in the sessions, but will first need to become a member and complete an induction course.

Once the induction is complete, swimmers can book to attend any session they like.

At present only 30 swimmers are allowed in the water at any one time so people wishing to swim must pre-book their session.

Sessions will be regulated under the close supervision of a fully trained team and will only be held in designated areas.

Any unauthorised swimming at any Welsh Water reservoir is prohibited and is extremely dangerous.

Kevin Burt, visitor attractions manager at Llandegfedd Lake, said: “The response to opening up our lake for open water swimming sessions has been tremendous, with almost every session fully booked.

"After having such a quiet 2020 due to Covid restrictions, it is nice to see the lake fast becoming the hub for recreation, health and wellbeing that we wanted it to be.

“We are excited to see how demand for swimming grows over the coming months and are hopeful that we can not only add more sessions, but also investigate the opportunity to host larger sporting events such as triathlons in the future".

The launch of open water swimming at Llandegfedd Lake is just the beginning of a wider roll-out at designated Welsh Water reservoirs across Wales, with Llys Y Fran in Pembrokeshire and Llyn Brenig in Denbighshire hoping to follow suit over the coming months.

You can view the swimming schedule and book a session here.