Seeing as though Diane is the fit one I was today's official documenter - which to be honest was a role I was very comfortable with. I've placed up some photos of the day plus some useful(?) information for people who may decide to participate in the future - hope it helps.
Oi Oi!! Here we go. The river Dart, Devon.
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The route taken by today's swim and me in the car.
A view of Totnes from the staging area car park
Diane getting to know the environment and looking forward to her swim.
Race registration is at Totnes boat club.
The race has grown over the three years it has been running. Today there were four waves each starting fifteen minutes apart, with the first wave starting at 11.00.
Queuing for registration.
Queuing is one of our national past times and we do it so well.
Registration.
Overall we thought the event was very well organised and professional with registration being the first stage of the event. Thanks to all of the staff that ran the event, you done a mighty fine job ;-)
The point of no return? Diane signing her life away
A nice shot looking up the Dart towards Totnes. Surely, it has to be nicer to travel down the river 10 kilometres in one of these babies?
Diane preparing for the impending torture, erh, I mean fun swim.
Ready to go!
Although Diane's legs have shrunk for some reason. Not good before a 10k swim.
Diane was in the first wave of the day (yellow). We found this quite helpful as the general area was a lot quieter for preparing and getting ready to go.
A short series of videos giving you a feel for the positive atmosphere and showing the start of the yellow wave.
A view looking down the Dart after the swimmers had departed.
A view of the finishing area from the Dittisham car park/farmers field
Obviously I wasn't taking part so I had to drive to Dittisham which is the end point of the swim. This is a shot from the makeshift car park. For those interested in doing the event some time in the future a local farmer opens up his field to allow car parking for all of the +1's. Price is £2 for the day which is kind of a bargain. For people who don't have a personal caddy like me there is a special bus service that runs constantly back and forward to Totnes. I'm not sure of the price but I don't think it was particularly expensive.
A view of the Devon countryside from the beautiful little village of Dittisham
As you can see from the above car park photo there is bit of a hill to travel down before you get to the water's edge. Fortunately you get to travel through the exquisite village of Dittisham before getting to the intended destination.
Dittisham
The final meeting point. Deck chairs and scran was available.
An amazing view out over the Dart.
This particular section of the river is quite wide and is very close to the mouth of the river, therefore the water is salty at this point. So the swim effectively starts in fresh water and finishes in sea water.
A view over the Dart for a boat storage area.
On the homeward stretch
Diane finally finishing after a marathon swim.
Yeeahh finished!!
She looks a bit tired and cold - which is understandable - but she completed the swim in a time of 3 hours 53 minutes. Well done Diane we're all very proud of you.
A shot I took whilst waiting for Diane to finish. A Herring Gull with the next generation of evil.
Always park your car away from where these scamps might be sitting on lamp posts - if you get my drift. It can get very messy!
Donkey sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon.
A dozing Greyhound.
On the right hand side from top to bottom: a pied wagtail and a blue tit
We went on the hope of seeing some Dippers; we were lucky as we managed to see our first one. Unfortunately, it was too busy for me to get a shot of any description so you'll have to take my word on that. If you want to see Dippers I recommend this place, which has some nice short walks and a small selection of animals to get your hands on if the Dippers don't show up.
Where I come from it's normally other cars that hold you up, here it's cows!
Brixham by night
You can just about see the silhouette of Drake's Golden Hind in the centre of the picture.
Diane getting stuck into the back end of hurricane Nadine, thrown over the Atlantic from America. The day was a complete wash out, cheers Nadine!
A little fun sequence of Diane getting drenched by the storm.
Dartmouth, Slapton sands, Blackpool sands & Darmouth Castle
The lovely coastal town of Dartmouth
Crossing the Dart on a floating pontoon.
This is the lower crossing. It is just a floating pontoon which is pushed over the river by a small tug boat (£7 return last crossing around 23:00hrs). There is a brand new upper crossing which comprises of a much bigger boat. I would recommend that you take the bigger boat during high season as this particular crossing, although fun, would probably be a bit of a nightmare during the summer months.
Slapton (Slapton sands)
Slapton
Autumn is definitely on its way!
From top left clockwise: a common Darter & Slapton Leys fresh water lake.
Blackpool Sands
A rainbow hugging the cliff edge
A church located at Dartmouth Castle
Yes darling you look beautiful!
Moon's up!
Shags or Cormorants?
Don't tell them but they look the same to me.
Sharrah Pool, upstream river Dart, Dartmoor.
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You might need to scroll this map out slightly to reveal the location
Diane being a wild swimmer took us to this place as future swimming spot. Unfortunately due to the south coast being battered by Hurricane Nadine it was a little bit too treacherous to go in on this occasion. Definitely one for the future though. I've put a map up just in case you fancy a dip.
Sharrah pool looking upstream
Sharrah pool itself.
It's essentially a bend in the river Dart where a natural brake in the river flow occurs. This enables a safe(ish) place to swim if you're into that sort of thing. If not, it's still a beautiful spot where you can just hang out and observe.
There are some flat rocks at the bottom of this ladder where you can enter the pool. This is a good feature to look out for when you're trying to locate the swimming point.
.....and again
Walking back down the river to the car park at New Bridge. The distance to Sharrah pool is approximately 2 km straight up the river. We approached it from the East bank but you can also follow the west bank starting from the smaller car park just west of New Bridge.
Well that was the end of our trip.
It was my first time to Devon as a tourist - or grockle as the Devonians would say - and I really enjoyed it. It really is a beautiful place and I highly recommend to anybody who wants to visit. Maybe you could get into training for the 10k swim? If you do, I wish you luck and I promise I will give you all the support you need.....from the side! ;-)
