Toes in the Water – a community day of art, music and more – returns to St Denys Boat Club (SO17 2LT) this Saturday (Feb 22), raising funds for Friends of the Itchen Estuary and celebrating wild swimming.

Running from 10 am to 4 pm, the event promises live music all day, an art exhibition, and hands-on crafting at the 'making table'.

Attendees can also enjoy refreshments at the on-site café, where there’s said to be "excellent cake".

This year’s music line-up includes performances from Southampton Ukulele Jam, The Guillotine Union Boys, Puddleglum and more.

While the event highlights the joys of wild swimming, it also draws attention to concerns about water quality.

Friends of the Itchen Estuary, the local group benefiting from the fundraiser, has reported e.coli levels at Cobden Bridge more than three times higher than those recorded on the River Thames last March, when three Oxford boat race crew members fell ill with gastrointestinal infections.

Southern Water treatment plant photographed from Riverside Park in January 2025

The group is calling for increased action to improve water quality, including signs warning of pollution levels and the installation of UV sterilisation at the Portswood wastewater treatment centre in St Denys – a measure already in place at Woolston and Millbrook.

Toes in the Water takes place primarily on the first floor of the boat club, which has no wheelchair access.

More details and tickets are available on eventbrite.

From our archive: Swimmers at Cobden Bridge, from around 2012