Swim 20: Iffley Lock to Kennington

Another winter swim, this was a distance of about 1.2km starting where we left off at Iffley Lock and finishing at a convenient beach adjacent to Kennington.  This swim is the first half of Swim 31 in Michael Worthington's I ♥ the Thames book.


We met in the Health Centre car park – free parking – opposite The Tandem pub:

http://g.co/maps/ppy3a

There is a short walk from there, over the railway foot bridge, to the river, where we checked out the exit point before walking upstream to Iffley Lock:

http://g.co/maps/yrz92

At Iffley Lock we jumped in as near to the downstream side of the punt lock that mud allowed.  Use good judgement here.  If the entry looks unmanageable then get in further downstream by the exit of the lock.  We then swam down to our exit point here:

http://g.co/maps/fu4pv

Once under the road bridge, visible from Iffley Lock, that carries Oxford's Southern Bypass, there are plenty of exits points along the way to allow for an early escape, if the temperature is too challenging.

Returning to the cars we then repaired to The Tandem pub for a spot of lunch:

If done in the warmer months of the year, this swim can easily be combined with swims 18 and 19 for a total distance of 3.8km.