Started by Rod Newing and Steve Newell, the Tidal Thames Swims are an adventure up the river and back again at the whim of the tide.

The Port of London Authority bans swimming below Putney Bridge and, rightly, strongly discourages swimming in the tidal Thames upstream of Putney, as far as Teddington Lock where the tidal section ends. However, Rod and Steve have been organising swims from Hammersmith for fifteen years, working closely with the PLA.

The swims travels out with the last of the rising tide at which point swimmers congregate around the top of the isle before coming back with the first of the falling tide. It takes around 20-25 mins and is around 1k in distance.

We do not recommend this swim for beginners/ those new to open water! Times will vary depending on the tide.

The times listed are high water. We swim about 20 minutes before high water, so arrive about 40 minutes before high water i.e. 17.50.