The Environment Agency collects and analyses water samples each year from May to September, to ensure that designated bathing water sites on the coast and inland are safe and clean for swimming and other activities. This shape file shows the approximate locations of our monitoring sites and the compliance or classification for each bathing water in England from 1988 to present. It is updated twice a year, to revise the inventory, and the assessment results. For coastal waters the specific locations of monitoring vary along a transect with the changing of the tides. The results of these samples are assessed in annual classifications and are available to view and download through the bathing water data explorer. This data is covered by AfA470. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2015. All rights reserved.