Swim #1 in OSS Oxon and Reading's Swim the Thames event series.

Cricklade Bridge to Water Eaton House - Mon 02 May 10:30 - 15:00

This is the first "swim" in our attempt to swim the length of the Thames from the
source to the sea (well the end of the non-tidal Thames at Teddington at least).

Following on from the initial walk from the Source to Cricklade on Good Friday, we
will paddle, wade and even swim a bit from Cricklade Bridge to Water Eaton House.

This stretch combines swims 1 & 2 from Michael Worthington's book - 'I Love the
Thames' -... and will cover 3km but if the going gets too heavy we will stop half way
at Eysey Manor footbridge and re-schedule the remainder for another day.

We will be meeting at 10:30am at the Town Hall car park in Cricklade (marked by green
arrow). (Same as the Good Friday Source to Cricklade walk.)

http://tinyurl.com/Cricklade-TH

From here we will shuttle down to the end point at the footbridge near Water Eaton
House - parking is limited - and walk back up to Cricklade so we can survey the river
for obstacles from the safety of the bank.  (Recommended practice from Mike's book
and particularly relevant for these early sections of the river.) To avoid any
gymnastics at Cricklade bridge we can jump in the river from the path at the point it
diverges from the river just on the boundary of Cricklade and paddle up the river to
Cricklade bridge and then turn round and start the paddle proper back down to Water
Eaton house. Shuttle back to Cricklade and find a pub for drink / lunch. (Or bring a
picnic if the weather is kind . . .)

Having inspected the Thames at Cricklade at the end of our Source to Cricklade walk
this is going to require a decent pair of 'feet' - a pair of  surf boots with thick
grip soles - but you can get cheap shoes of  the kind that you can buy at the beach
for very little and they'll do, either on their own, or with a pair of wetsuit socks
which are again quite cheap. (See OSS  Wading Shoes Facebook discussion -

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55781602829&v=app_2373072738#!/topic.php?uid=55781602829&topic=17110 )

By attending you confirm that you are a member of the OSS and have read and accepted

the OSS swim responsibility statement:

http://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/index.php?p=swimming_tips&s=responsibility

All swimmers swim at their own risk.

Jeremy Wellingham And Sefryn Penrose

e-mail: Oxford@outdoorswimmingsociety.com