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<p><i><font size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">A
few of us have decided we want to swim the length of
the Thames during the course of the next </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">year or
three.</font></font></font></i><br>
<br>
<i><font size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">We
will be doing this in small sections, in sequence,
using Mike Worthington’s book – ‘I Love the Thames’
– as our </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">guide,
starting at the Source of the Thames and working our
way </font></font></font></i><i><font size="-1"><font
face="Arial"><font face="Arial">down to Teddington, a
distance of around 150 miles. We expect to swim on a
Saturday or </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">Sunday,
probably every other week or so. This is <strong>not</strong>
an endurance test but more a way to </font></font></font></i><br>
<i><font size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">experience
the complete Thames and hopefully add to our
repertoire of swimming locations that we </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">can come
back to in the future. To start with we will be
aiming for a swim of a mile or two in the morning or
afternoon </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">but as
the weather warms up, and we get the measure of our
capabilities, we can adjust the </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">distance
and maybe do some full days combined with a picnic
lunch. Later in the summer, we may program weekend
swims, camping overnight, </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">and full
moon swims, to make the journey as enjoyable and
diverse as possible.</font></font></font></i><br>
<br>
<i><font size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">The
first section of the Thames is a walk of around 12
miles from The Source near Kemble in </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">Gloucestershire
to Cricklade. We will do this on Easter Friday – 22
April - with a picnic lunch. The next section we
expect to </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">be more
of a wade than a swim which we will tackle the
following May bank holiday weekend, avoiding the
Wedding Friday to cater for Royalists! We will gauge
the distance following a recce </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">at the
end of our initial walk.</font></font></font></i><br>
<br>
<i><font size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">It
may be difficult to make all the swims / walks so
you are more than welcome to join us for any </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">sections
that take your fancy or fit your schedule, and if
you want to catch up on sections missing from your
collection we </font></font></font></i><i><font
size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">hope to
record our experiences to provide some hints so you
could do them independently. </font></font></font></i><br>
<br>
<i><font size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">We
will make up the schedule and logistics as we go
along and try to set dates a month or two in advance
and post them on the OSS sites as per normal swims.</font></font></font></i><br>
<br>
<i><font size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">In
order not to overload the e-mail network, we will
set up a separate group list for those interested in
taking part, or following progress, and also a
Facebook group to post stories and pictures on. We
will also post swim alerts, as usual, to the OSS
Oxon list and to Facebook. </font></font></font></i></p>
<p><i><font size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">Let
us know if you think you would like to join us -
the more, the merrier - along the beautiful Thames.</font></font></font></i></p>
<p><i><font size="-1"><font face="Arial"><font face="Arial">Usual
OSS terms and conditions apply.</font></font></font></i></p>
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