Clive Grant has provided more details on this year’s swim and trek along the Dorset coast for EDOWSC club members. With good weather it will be an ideal day for families and friends to join us and for those who are confident sea swimmers to enjoy wild swims. As with all informal activities of this type, you swim at your own risk on this magical mystery tour.
- Meet in the Worth Matravers car park at 9am for 9 30am departure. Walk to Winspit and down the narrow path to the rock platforms for the first swim. Return to car park. (11.30am)
- Drive to Tyneham Village, park (£2.00, suggested donation) and walk to Worbarrrow Bay for second swim. Return to car park for a picnic lunch. (12.45pm).
NB. Sunday at Tyneham on a sunny day is likely to be very busy. Everyone should aim to park on the right of the track near the trees where we hope to have one of our EDOWSC flag markers. - Depart Tyneham Village after picnic at 2.pm. Drive to NT Car Park at Durdledoor. Buy a £5.00 ticket and retain for the next NT car park at Lulworth. Walk down to West Beach for a swim through the Door and round the headland to Man o War Bay and return. Walk back to car park.
- Drive to the NT car park at West Lulworth (use retained Car Park ticket). Final swim from Lulworth Cove to Stair Hole Cave and return. It’s estimated that we should complete all swims by 5.30pm – 6pm.
The timings in italics are approximate, but we’d like to achieve the start time from Worth Matravers in the morning and Tyneham village after lunch in order to complete all the swims but not be too late finishing. It also means that those who can only attend the morning or afternoon swims have a reliable start point.
Weather Conditions
The forecast for next Sunday is encouraging with predicted fine weather and a Northerly breeze. In the event of a change in wind direction to the S – SW, it might be necessary to abort the Winspit swim and modify the other three swims by remaining in more sheltered waters. If this looks likely, the start point will move from Worth Matravers to Tyneham at a revised time of 10.30am.
If the forecast changes in the next few days to the prospect of wet and windy weather, the day will be postponed and we’ll look at another suitable date.
Any changes to the programme or a postponement will be emailed to all, during the afternoon of Friday 12 August.
Additional Points to Note
- Please bring £7.00 in coins for car parking and remember to retain the ticket when we leave Durdledoor.
- There will be a registration form to complete before we leave the car park. Hopefully we’ll have most of the swimmers names but we’ll need an emergency contact number for family/friend. We will also record swimmers into and out of the water.
- It is recommended that walking shoes or trainers are worn to and from swims. The water temperature is currently 17/18 degrees and with swims not longer than 45 minutes, wetsuits are not considered necessary but the decision remains a personal choice.
- Bring a picnic lunch for Tyneham and additional snacks if required. If the weather is as warm as expected, everyone should carry enough water and consider wearing a hat and sun screen.
If you not yet signed up and want to take part, please email Clive Grant (cliveisalive@hotmail.co.uk) and Joan (joakei@sky.com with an indication of how many others will be in your party. You might wish to consider car sharing – this will be left to club members to coordinate between themselves.
For those who regularly use the Purbeck coast for swimming or walking, Clive highly recommends a map published by: www.littlemapco.co.uk – a waterproof, durable OS map 1:40,000 scale covering Poole to Weymouth by Little Map Company (based in Poole Dorset UK they have successfully designed and printed a range of 25 maps including Cycle, Walking and Town Maps).