The outdoor swimming sites visited by Tim
NOTE! Water is dangerous - it can kill you. You can drown in a paddling pool, and a river or lake has a lot more hazards than the pool in your back garden. If you swim, you take responsibility for your actions, as I take no responsibility for you or your decisions. Comments here are purely my own thoughts, and not a suggestion that where I swim is in any way safe for you. In particular, don't blame me if you find outdoor swimming rather good fun, find yourself enjoying being in clean, chemical-free water, and let your gym membership lapse in favour of swimming outdoors.
So; I've recently started doing a bit of outdoor swimming, and am looking to slowly expand my list of sites which (so far) are limited to the Thames around Oxford. Watch this page!
Outdoor swimming sites:
- Downstream of Days Lock, Dorchester, Oxon
- Port Meadow, Oxford, Oxon
- Windrush and Thames, Newbridge, Oxon
- Kelmscott, Oxon
Downstream of Days Lock, Dorchester, Oxon
I've very much enjoyed a couple of swims now from Days Lock about 2.3k downstream to a small beach south of Dorchester. There's good parking at a layby just north of where Henley Road turns off the A4074, and a footpath down to the Thames Path. I was introduced to the site by the Outdoor Swimming Society who apparently rate it very highly - I can see why!
The walk up from the layby to Days Lock is a couple of kilometres of mostly grassy paths so kind to your feet. There are a few small stretches of stoney path through gates, and some nettles, but these are quite manageable with a bit of care. At Days Lock there's water access just past the rainbow bridge by the Thames Conservancy house, either walking round to the mooring pontoon which has a ladder into the water or scrambling down the bank behind the pontoon.
Once in the river, the current is swift under the bridge and then turns a wide, sweeping corner to the left into the long stretch of wide river past Dorchester. This is one of the most beautiful stretches of river I've seen in a while, with tall trees, lots of wildlife, and few signs of human presence when the boats are out of sight. Herons, grebes (which can surface very close to you if they're curious!), large raptors soaring overhead (red kites?), dragonflies, butterflies, ducks .. it's all there for you to enjoy as you swim downstream, being lazy with the current.
Points I'm cautious of include making sure I know exactly where my exit point is going to be (there are quite characteristic features on the bank before my exit beach), walking the swim distance before I swim it to make sure there's nothing in the river I need to be aware of, checking the current, and being aware that there's quite some distance between exit points so I should be confident I can stay in the water that long. Concerns resolved, I enjoy the swim!
Port Meadow, Oxford, Oxon
I can't believe many cities have a swim as good as the Isis at Port Meadow within a few minutes walk of the city centre. Heading up Walton Street past the Phoenix and out along Walton Well Road the open expanse of Port Meadow greets you, and the walk over the soft grass lures you up towards Godstow before stepping off a low bank and into the river for a swim. The current might be strong, might be weak, but once in it it seems like nothing at all, yet the world is drifting past with no effort on your part. Low trees line the right bank, the left is the meadow with cows grazing, ducks and geese pecking at the grass, people out walking and cycling, the world going past as you drift with the flow. You might be joined by other swimmers, by rowers, by dinghies beating back and forth in a light or strong wind, perhaps even by some ducks or a grebe out fishing.
Getting in at Godstow, there's about 2k to the Binsey footbridge, a good distance for a couple of good swims separated by a drift and finishing up on the final straight between parked boats before trying not to graze your toes on the barrier under the footbridge which comes very close to the surface. To all bar swimmers, it's definitely not navigable past that point!
