Outdoor Swimming

[tim]

Hello,

With a similar dislike of pool lengths as Keri expressed in his recent thread, I went along to an Outdoor Swimming Society meet-up today on the Thames at Dorchester, Oxon. This was a lot of fun! I guess we swam and drifted about three quarters of a mile in very pleasant mid-temperature water (bearable without a wetsuit, much more comfortable with one), and the current was quite easy to make headway against with a relatively lazy swimming str*k*. Quite a mixed bunch turned up, from the author of a recent 'Wild Swimming' book to a BBC radio reporter.

Drifting downstream was easy and good relaxation, making steady progress upstream was excellent exercise and with a lot of things to look at - herons, grebes, boats, raindrops on the water, trees, walkers - the time slipped away easily and it all seemed far less hard work, far more relaxation and fun. Great way to exercise.

It was a really pleasant swim, and even had there been more boats (the lock-keepers, somewhat against our wishes, closed the section of the river whilst we were swimming it!) it would have been quite easy to avoid them by sticking to the sides of the river as they went past.

Could I tempt any of you into joining me on another swim? I was thinking about Wednesday evening after work, same place on the Thames just south of Dorchester, so an easy drive from Oxford, Reading, Didcot, etc.

Tim

[Phil O]

I'll keep an eye out for you as I have a lovely evening drink at the Beetle & Wedge