Swim 30: South Stoke to Gatehampton (Almost)

With the Thames in full spate we continued with our current assisted swims and had another 4.9km (feels like 3km!) swim from South Stoke almost to Gatehampton. Swim number 30 – was it really that many since we started at Easter last year? – was a momentous milestone as we crossed the half way mark shortly after starting on our non-tidal Thames journey from the Source to Teddington. We also swam through the famous Goring Gap via Cleeve Lock (keep to the right) and then Goring Lock (keep to the the left). Walkers started along the Ridgeway at South Stoke on the left bank and joined the Thames path at Goring, which crosses the river to the left bank to meet the Ridgeway and the ancient Icknield Way. Goring was a major crossing point of the Thames in ancient times. This swim is swim 43,44 and some of 45 in the I ♥ the Thames book.

We met at the swim entry point at the end of Ferry Lane in South Stoke at, where there is limited parking:

http://goo.gl/maps/vxOs

Parking is also available at the Perch and Pike, where we had lunch afterwards, which is a 5-10 minute walk away from the start point at the end of Ferry Lane:

http://goo.gl/maps/ADgo

We swam down to just before Brunel's Great Western Gatehampton Viaduct (A bridge with several equally spaced arches for the less pretentious.) We exited at the beach on the left:

http://goo.gl/maps/h6ir

and walked back along the Thames path and Ferry Lane in Goring to cars that we had shuttled down to the car park in Goring:

http://goo.gl/maps/FHVSm

We then shuttled back to the Perch and Pike for Lunch