Call for ‘swim-along’ interviews with Thames swimmers

Do you swim in the River Thames? Take part in an exciting research project exploring swimming communities along England’s longest river.

Outdoor swimming PhD researcher Safia Bailey, from the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, is leading some exciting research on swimming in the River Thames

The project, River Thames Reflections, centers on the swimming communities of the River Thames. Working with swimmers from the source of the Thames to the sea, it explores what the river means to its swimmers and, in return, what they mean to the river.

From Autumn 2025 to Autumn 2026, Bailey will be carrying out individual swim-along interviews with Thames swimmers in a stretch of the Thames of their choosing. These interviews will focus on themes including (but not limited to) a swimmer’s motivations for river swimming, their connections and engagements with the Thames, and their swimming experiences and practices. You don’t have to be a year-round swimmer to participate and can join the project at any time.

“Over the seasons of one year, from Autumn 2025 to Summer 2026, I will swim with Thames swimmers to immerse into their experiences of river swimming. Our conversations will be recorded using a GoPro camera,” Bailey explains. “I am not only hoping to capture the voices of Thames swimmers, but also the voice of the river itself.”

This project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and is based at Cardiff University. The project has received ethical approval from Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee. The findings will be shared in Bailey’s PhD Thesis, research website, publications and public engagement activities.

If you would like to participate in the study, visit riverthamesreflections.org