/A few of us have decided we want to swim the length of the Thames
during the course of the next //year or three./
/We will be doing this in small sections, in sequence, using Mike
Worthington's book -- 'I Love the Thames' -- as our //guide,
starting at the Source of the Thames and working our way //down to
Teddington, a distance of around 150 miles. We expect to swim on a
Saturday or //Sunday, probably every other week or so. This is *not*
an endurance test but more a way to /
/experience the complete Thames and hopefully add to our repertoire
of swimming locations that we //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 //but as the weather warms up, and we get the
measure of our capabilities, we can adjust the //distance and maybe
do some full days combined with a picnic lunch. Later in the summer,
we may program weekend swims, camping overnight, //and full moon
swims, to make the journey as enjoyable and diverse as possible./
/The first section of the Thames is a walk of around 12 miles from
The Source near Kemble in //Gloucestershire to Cricklade. We will
do this on Easter Friday -- 22 April - with a picnic lunch. The
next section we expect to //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 //at the end of our initial walk./
/It may be difficult to make all the swims / walks so you are more
than welcome to join us for any //sections that take your fancy
or fit your schedule, and if you want to catch up on sections
missing from your collection we //hope to record our experiences to
provide some hints so you could do them independently. /
/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./
/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. /
/Let us know if you think you would like to join us - the more, the
merrier - along the beautiful Thames./
/Usual OSS terms and conditions apply./
