Farleigh & District Swimming Club
Founded in 1933, the Farleigh & District Swimming Club is believed to be the oldest river swimming club in the world. This is a recreational summer club. There are no events. It is 4 miles west of Trowbridge, Wilts, on the A366. BA2 7RS. Grid Reference: ST 805577. Turn into the field on the corner by the club sign. This is on the Trowbridge side of the two stone bridges. The Club is a member of RALSA (River & Lake Swimming Association), where a database of other swimming locations is available.
The Club is currently closed for the winter, but hopefully the weather will turn shortly.
Membership. The Club is only open during the summer. This usually means from after silage (approx late April) May to mid September, but if there is warm weather outside of this period then the Club is usually opened up. Cows are put into the Club fields in winter. They may ignore swimmers, but they have been known to chase swimmers into the river! Club Membership Collectors are usually only on duty on warm sunny days when people are likely to want to swim. You can then join on site. If not you can join at the farm (Follow the "Cream Teas" sign.) which is 800 yards up the A366 towards Trowbridge. Alternatively you can join by post by sending a cheque (made out to the Farleigh & District Swimming Club) together with a completed Membership Application Form (printed out from the pdf available below) + stamped addressed return envelope, to Rob Fryer, 39 Portway, Warminster, BA12 8QQ ( A Membership Card will then be returned to you. Membership is by Calendar year. Membership for 2012 is: Families (up to 6) £20, Adult £10. Membership is open to everyone except those under 12. There is no waiting list. Please read the Safety Notice which is printed on the back of both the Application Forms and the Membership Cards.
Occasional visitors. Payment of membership subs can be made by instalments of £1 per adult and 50p per child on each visit, until the Instalment total of £30 per Family or £15 per Adult is reached. If you only come once or twice you will not have completed your membership payments. This does not matter. The Club does not expect you to pay the difference.
Membership of the Club offers free parking in the first field and picnicking and/or swimming from the second. The river is about 8ft deep, but you can walk in from above the (slippery) weir. Do not swim if the river is in spate (brown water). There are two ladders. There are no life-guards so you should always swim with company and be able to provide safety cover for your group.
The Village Punp Festival is no longer held, so the Club is no longer closed for that or any other week-end during the summer. However there are motocross events held in the field oppposite on 7-8 July, 11-12 August and 15-16 September when it may be a bit noisy.
Dogs are not allowed. This is because of hygiene. just as they are banned from playing fields and most popular beaches in summer. Please tidy up and take any litter home. Thanks.
CLUB RULES - to follow