
Lord James Bethell and a Vision for a Swimmable Thames in London
From Swimmingpod by Stanley Ulijaszek
February 23, 2026 · 17 min
About this episode
James Bethell discusses his vision for making the River Thames swimmable again.
James Bethell is a Lord of the British realm. A former Health Minister and member of the House of Lords. He is a passionate open water swimmer, whose passion has extended to bring open water swimming back to the River Thames in London. In this episode of Swimmingpod, Lord Bethell, James Bethell, talks about his open water passion, and a vision for a swimmable River Thames.
People in this episode
Host: Stanley Ulijaszek
Guest: James Bethell
Topics covered
- open water swimming
- River Thames
- health
- environment
- sports
Keywords
- open water swimming
- River Thames
- James Bethell
- health minister
- London swimming
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: House of Lords
Places: River Thames, London
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