OSSRATS April 2011

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10 participants
8 discussions

OSS Swim the Thames - Swim #1 Cricklade Bridge to Water Eaton House - Mon 02 May 10:30 - 15:00
by Jeremy Wellingham 02 May '11

02 May '11

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.… <http://www.facebook.com/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=responsib… All swimmers swim at their own risk. Jeremy Wellingham And Sefryn Penrose e-mail: Oxford(a)outdoorswimmingsociety.com

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OSS Swim the Thames - Dates for May and June
by Jeremy Wellingham 19 Apr '11

19 Apr '11

Looking forward to this Friday's walk from the Source to Cricklade Bridge. Hopefully there may be a chance for a paddle / dip along the way so come prepared. Here are the dates for the next sections so you can pencil them in your diaries. We will be sending out details for each one a bit nearer each swim. For now, we are aiming high and planning for two sections from Micheal's book in a day but are prepared to cut a section short if it proves to be too ambitious. The start of the Thames is quite a distance to get to for most people so we would like to make the most of the day once there. If we do cut it short we will still stick to the dates but just reschedule the sections. The early parts are a bit of an unknown and we don't really know how much will be a swim, how much a wade and how much a paddle. Mon02May Cricklade Bridge to Water Eaton House (3km) Sun15May Water Eaton House to Round House Farm (3km) Mon30May Round House Farm to Kempsford Church (3.4km) For June, when there is a full moon, we thought we might make a weekend of it and camp overnight and have a moonlight swim (Shamelessly borrowing the idea from Tom Read and his moonlight swims on the river Nene). (The actual full moon is inconveniently mid week, on Wednesday.) Sat11Jun Kempsford Church to Hannington Bridge (2.1km) Sun12Jun Hannington Bridge to Inglesham (5.7km!) (This is a long stretch but we will be able to start at a reasonable time if we are already there and take our time over it. There are no obvious places to leave a car mid way and the Thames path does not follow the river here.) Jeremy & Sef Oxford(a)outdoorswimmingsociety.com

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OSS Swim the Thames - Source to Cricklade (Walk) - Fri 22 Apr 2011
by Jeremy Wellingham 13 Apr '11

13 Apr '11

/OSS (Oxon and Reading) Team Thames is beginning the Thames trek on Good Friday - April 22nd - from the source of the Thames, close to Kemble in Gloucestershire. The first part of the Thames is not swimmable (although there may be paddleable parts), so this first stretch is a *walk* of approximately 12 miles from the source to Cricklade. / // /We will be meeting at 10am at the Town Hall car park in Cricklade (marked by green arrow)./ *http://tinyurl.com/Cricklade-TH* // /From there we will consolidate cars and shuttle up to the source. //We will park at the lay-by on the A433 (marked by green arrow), to set off at 10.30am. / *http://tinyurl.com/A433-layby* /If you would like to meet us there. There is a station in Kemble so if you are coming by train, you can walk from Kemble. / // /12 miles is a good stretch so we will leave a car half way at Ashton Keynes. If you think in advance that you might only want to do half of the walk, we can make sure the car shuffling considers this. / // /We will be stopping for a picnic lunch so make sure you bring lunch and plenty of other fuel to keep you going through the day. Check the weather reports before the day so you don't bring too much/too little clothing and of course dig out the sensible shoes. Consider minimum swim gear in case we find a deep section and fancy a paddle but remember, you will be carrying it for 12 miles. We'll be using Michael Worthington's 'I Love the Thames' book for the trip, but here are a few websites to get you in the mood:/ // http://thames.me.uk/s02380.htm for some historical and literary background. http://www.bertuchi.co.uk/Thamespath01.php the walk, more or less as we'll be doing it, an idea of what to expect. http://www.thames-path.org.uk/thames_cricklade_source.html the same walk (backwards). http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/thamespath/index.asp?PageId=1 the National Trail official website for the Thames Path. // /The Ordnance Survey map for this stretch is Explorer 169. We will have a copy or two with us. / // /We should finish around 6pm at Cricklade. / // /Drop us a line if you have any questions, or just to confirm that you're coming. We look forward to seeing you all there. / // /Jeremy & Sef / 07989 384456 / 07949 039099 // ///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=responsib… <http://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/index.php?p=swimming_tips&s=responsib…>/

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Re: [OSS RATS] OSS Swim the Thames - Update
by Chris Dalton 11 Apr '11

11 Apr '11

I assume that the start is really 10am! I'll be driving from Princes Risborough HP27, so if anyone wants a lift please feel free to email/FB me. CD From: Jeremy Wellingham [mailto:jeremy@wellingham.com] Sent: 10 April 2011 22:05 To: Jeremy Wellingham Cc: Kate Rew; Sefryn Penrose Subject: OSS Swim the Thames - Update Gosh - we've had 29 responses so far from you all expressing an interest in taking part in some sections if not the whole of the Thames. We will be setting up a section on OSS Facebook to keep you updated on progress as well as sending out swim dates on the OSSOxen and OSSRATS e-mail lists. In the meantime, for those who want to make sure they cover every last inch of the Thames we will be WALKING the first 12 miles from the source near Kemble to Cricklade on Good Friday, 22 April. Meeting up at Cricklade at 10:0pm for a 10:30pm start. We will shuttle in a few cars to the source near Kemble and walk back along the Thames path to Cricklade. We will also drop off a car about half way at Ashton Keynes in case 12 miles proves to be too much. (Can't remember the last time I walked 12 miles but I think it should be doable.) Bring a pic-nic so we can break for lunch along the way. We will be sending out more detailed meeting instructions on Facebook and the OSS lists once they are set up. The first swim / wade will be on the following long May bank holiday weekend which we will recce at the end of the walk. Look out for OSS updates later this week . . . . Regards Jeremy & Sef _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1321 / Virus Database: 1500/3563 - Release Date: 04/10/11

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Swim the Thames
by Mark and Victoria 10 Apr '11

10 Apr '11

Hi Jeremy This is a great idea! I won't be able to make them all but would love to do some. Please count me in and let me know when and where you're swimming. If the weather stays like it is at the moment we should have a brilliant swimming summer. I hope to see you again soon. Victoria

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Swim the Thames
by Jeremy Wellingham 05 Apr '11

05 Apr '11

/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./

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Re: [OSS RATS] [OSS Oxon] Swim the Thames
by Laurenkirkman＠aol.com 05 Apr '11

05 Apr '11

I'd also love to do what i can around work so please count me in :-)

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Re: [OSS RATS] [OSS Oxon] Swim the Thames
by JUDY CORNISH 05 Apr '11

05 Apr '11

Hi - I'd be interested in joining some sections, probably once the water has warmed up a bit as I'm a bit of a lightweight! Cheers,  Judy --- On Mon, 4/4/11, Jeremy Wellingham <jeremy(a)wellingham.com> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid"> From: Jeremy Wellingham <jeremy(a)wellingham.com> Subject: [OSS Oxon] Swim the Thames To: ossoxon(a)earth.li, ossrats(a)earth.li Date: Monday, 4 April, 2011, 23:12 <DIV id=yiv1220716808> <DIV class=yiv1220716808gmail_quote> <DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE> 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.</BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></DIV></DIV> -----Inline Attachment Follows----- <DIV class=plainMail>_______________________________________________ OSS Oxon mailing list <A href="http://uk.mc867.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=OSSOxon@earth.li" ymailto="mailto:OSSOxon@earth.li">OSSOxon(a)earth.li</A> <A href="http://www.earth.li/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ossoxon" target=_blank>http://www.earth.li/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ossoxon</A> Please note that OSS Oxon exists to put swimmers in touch with other swimmers, not to organise swim events or in any way suggest that outdoor swimming is a safe activity or that you should go swimming. If you choose to swim you do so entirely at your own risk and on your own initiative, and any plans you make are your own responsibility.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>

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OSSRATS April 2011