Bristol Channel swims

The Bristol Channel is a large inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean in southwest Great Britain, separating England and Wales. The width varies from 9 miles (14 km) at its confluence with the River Severn to 23 miles (37 km) where it meets the Atlantic. Notably, the Bristol Channel has one of the largest tidal ranges in the world, up to 13m (43 feet).

Swimmers have been drawn to the challenge of crossing the Bristol Channel for nearly 100 years. Kathleen Thomas was the first, crossing a 16 km route in the inner/eastern channel between Penarth, Wales to Weston-super-Mare, England in 1927. In 1971, Kevin Murphy pioneered a longer route across the middle of the channel, from Glenthorne, England to Porthcawl, Wales. In 2009, Gethin Jones pioneered the "outer" route across the widest part of the channel, from Ilfracombe, England to Swansea, Wales.

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Bristol Channel route
Route Swims First Fastest
Ilfracombe, England to Wales 4 Geth Jones - 2009 Sian Clement - 14:01:00 (2016)
Weston-super-Mare, England to Penarth, Wales 3 Harry Luscombe - 1929 Edward Temme - 07:05:00 (1933)
Penarth, Wales to Weston-super-Mare, England 7 Kathleen Thomas - 1927 Gerald Forsberg - 05:40:00 (1964)
Glenthorne, England to Porthcawl, Wales 8 Kevin Murphy - 1971 Jane Luscombe - 10:46:00 (1976)
Penarth, Wales to Clevedon, England 8 Stephen Price - 1991 Joanne Jones - 05:27:57 (2020)
Clevedon, England to Penarth, Wales 1 Stephen Price - 1992 Stephen Price - 08:17:02 (1992)
Clevedon - Penarth - Clevedon 1 Stephen Price - 1994 Stephen Price - 15:43:17 (1994)
Porthcawl, Wales to England 4 Tom Chapman - 2021 Martyn Webster - 09:10:00 (2022)




Inner

Date Name Gender Age Nation Route Km Time
1927 Sep 5 Kathleen Thomas Female Penarth, Wales to Weston-super-Mare, England 16.1 07:20:00
1928 Jul 8 Edward Temme Male Penarth, Wales to England 15 06:35:00
1929 Aug 15 Edith Parnell Female Penarth, Wales to Weston-super-Mare, England 16.1 09:45:00
1929 Sep 12 Elsie Westenberg Female Penarth, Wales to Weston-super-Mare, England 16.1 09:37:00
1929 Sep 15 Harry Luscombe Male Weston-super-Mare, England to Penarth, Wales 16.1 09:03:00
1933 Jul 30 Edward Temme Male Weston-super-Mare, England to Penarth, Wales 16.1 07:05:00
1949 Sep 19 Jenny James Female Penarth, Wales to Weston-super-Mare, England 16.1 10:05:00
1950 Jul 9 Jenny James Female Weston-super-Mare, England to Penarth, Wales 16.1 08:23:00
1964 Jul 18 Gerald Forsberg Male 52 Penarth, Wales to Weston-super-Mare, England 16.1 05:40:00
1991 Sep 28 Stephen Price Male 29-30 Penarth, Wales to Clevedon, England 21.2 07:45:18
1992 Sep 21 Stephen Price Male 30-31 Clevedon, England to Penarth, Wales 21.2 08:17:02
1994 Sep 22 Stephen Price Male 32-33 Clevedon - Penarth - Clevedon 40.9 15:43:17
2007 Aug 26 Gary Carpenter Male Penarth, Wales to Clevedon, England 21.2 05:35:22
2017 Aug 16 Alec Richardson Male Penarth, Wales to Clevedon, England 21.2 05:58:03
2020 Sep 27 Joanne Jones Female 27-28 Penarth, Wales to Clevedon, England 21.2 05:27:57
2021 Jun 17 Tom Chapman Male 39 Penarth, Wales to Weston-super-Mare, England 16.1 06:17:21
2021 Jul 2 Tom Chapman Male 39 Penarth, Wales to Clevedon, England 21.2 06:38:53
2022 Jul 7 Tom Chapman Male 40 Penarth, Wales to Clevedon, England 21.2 07:04:12
2022 Jul 7 Philip Warren Male Penarth, Wales to Clevedon, England 21.2 07:04:22
2022 Jul 11 Rosalind Edmonds Female Penarth, Wales to Clevedon, England 21.2 06:49:10
2022 Aug 6 Jo Bolton Female Penarth, Wales to Weston-super-Mare, England 16.1 06:14:00

Middle

Date Name Gender Age Nation Route Km Time
1971 Jul 14 Kevin Murphy Male 22 Glenthorne, England to Porthcawl, Wales 26.8 15:00:35
1975 Jul 17 Ted Keenan Male 39 Glenthorne, England to Porthcawl, Wales 26.8 14:26:15
1976 Aug 19 Jane Luscombe Female Glenthorne, England to Porthcawl, Wales 26.8 10:46:00
1977 Aug 21 David Jones Male Glenthorne, England to Porthcawl, Wales 26.8 13:01:00
1979 Aug 4 Jeffrey Lloyd Male Glenthorne, England to Porthcawl, Wales 26.8 11:01:30
1982 Jul 29 Kaye Daniels Female Glenthorne, England to Porthcawl, Wales 26.8 11:24:10
2020 Sep 10 Kamil Resa Alsaran Male 59 Glenthorne, England to Wales 21.6 13:08:00
2021 Jun 19 Tom Chapman Male 39 Porthcawl, Wales to England 26.2 11:57:00
2021 Jun 30 Claire Leighton Female Glenthorne, England to Wales 21.6 09:13:00
2021 Jul 19 Victoria Lea Female Glenthorne, England to Wales 21.6 08:32:00
2022 Jun 22 Lee Johnson Male Glenthorne, England to Porthcawl, Wales 26.8 11:43:36
2022 Jul 21 Avram Iancu Male 45-46 Glenthorne, England to Wales 21.6 11:42:00
2022 Jul 21 Elaine Burrows Dillane Female 50-51 Glenthorne, England to Porthcawl, Wales 26.8 12:52:02
2022 Aug 6 Tom Chapman Male 40 Porthcawl, Wales to England 26.2 12:07:02
2022 Sep 19 Martyn Webster Male 55 Porthcawl, Wales to England 26.2 09:10:00
2022 Sep 19 Pat Gallant-Charette Female 71 Porthcawl, Wales to England 26.2 12:55:49

Outer

Date Name Gender Age Nation Route Km Time
2009 Sep 13 Geth Jones Male Ilfracombe, England to Wales 37 21:39:00
2016 Jul 23 Sian Clement Female 38 Ilfracombe, England to Wales 37 14:01:00
2022 Sep 21 Fergal Somerville Male 58-59 Ilfracombe, England to Wales 37 15:35:00
2022 Sep 21 Philip Warren Male Ilfracombe, England to Wales 37 21:47:00

Reviews

Reviewer: Shelley Griffin (August 2023)
Swam in 2023 (Finished)
Overall Experience: ★️★️★️★️★️

Pilot: Ceri davies
Fees: £900
Communication ★️★️★️★️★️
Piloting Skill: ★️★️★️★️★️
Cost/Value: ★️★️★️★️★️
Comments: "Ceri calculated my swim speed verses tides to see which Bristol Channel option was more achievable"

General Comments: "The process of registering the swim was simple and the Bristol Channel Swimming Association was very supportive with a website of useful information regarding the process of planning my swim to verification, also offering a swim training camp. The swim itself was in 18 degrees of the brown waters of the Bristol Channel taking in sights of Flat Holm and in the distance Steep Holm. The finish was tricky given the tides at Clevedon and a pier that never seemed to be getting closer - but it did! Definitely recommend this swim."


Reviewer: Lee Johnson (August 2023)
Swam in 2022 (Finished)
Overall Experience: ★️★️★️★️★️

Pilot: Ceri Davis
Fees: £1500
Communication ★️★️★️★️★️
Piloting Skill: ★️★️★️★️★️
Cost/Value: ★️★️★️★️★️

Association: Bristol Channel Swimming Association
Fees: £0
Communication ★️★️★️★️★️
Advice & Support: ★️★️★️★️★️
Value: ★️★️★️★️★️
Comments: "The BCSA is very new, I may have been the first ratified swim they did. It’s an Association which is run by swimmers, for swimmers. They are friendly and enthusiastic! In the first year the BCSA didn’t charge as they were getting up and running."

General Comments: "It’s a great swim and experience, it is gaining in popularity all the time and it’s easy to see why. The tide is obviously very strong which makes for an interesting swim"


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