The swim will start from Cigarette Island, situated behind Hampton Court Station. Your bags will be collected and taken to meet you at the finish on Ravens Ait Island, where you will celebrate with prizegiving and live music. There are excellent train and bus links links into central London and surrounding area from both start and finish lines, and we encourage you to use public transport where possible. At the event finish, the post swim celebration will last approximately 1.5 - 2 hours on the island, after which we will boat you back to the Surrey Bank - from which you can walk or bus back into Kingston for onward travel.

This is not a race, this is a friendly challenge event with the focus being to enjoy the swim under safe conditions. You will be timed however, so you can take your timing information home with you should you wish. We may also surprise you with some on the day prizes, but they won't be for speed!

Participants must be 18+ on of before event day.

This swim has an extensive safety set up, including safety boats, kayakers and event medics.

If you wish to cancel, you are not able to defer or get a refund, but we do have a flexible policy to help you, should you need it.   Firstly, when you enter you will be offered Active Insurance (from the registration platform). This is an extra payment, but will mean that you may be able to get the majority of your entry fee (not Active transaction fee) back. Please see their terms and conditions. Any questions about this insurance (if offered) needs to be directed to Active.com.(http://Active.com)   If you did not buy Active Insurance, you can transfer your place to someone else. This can all be done via your Active account. Transfers must be completed before the event registration closes, which is typically one week before the event. There is a transfer fee of £15 for all transfers.

If conditions are not suitable in the immediate lead up to the event, we will attempt to run a back up swim of the same distance at a nearby venue, and the after swim celebration will continue as planned on Ravens Ait Island. In this eventuality, swimmers are responsible for their travel to and from the back up venue and Ravens Ait.

​To make sure we can complete the course in the time, we ask you can swim a km in less than 40 minutes.

This is a fantastic event for spectators who can either book a Spectator Boat and Ravens Ait Party ticket, or use Barge Walk to follow the swim all the way along the river to Kingston and then meet the swimmers after the party. Please note, there are a limited number of Ravens Ait party tickets available to spectators which are available to purchase on a first come first served basis.

The swim does follow the river downstream, meaning there will be some assistance from the flow of the river.

The King of the Thames Swim takes place on a well-monitored stretch of the River Thames, and swimmer safety is always our top priority. We work closely with the relevant river authorities and local partners, and we monitor conditions carefully in the lead-up to the event. On event week we will review all available water quality information alongside weather and river flow conditions. If anything suggests that conditions are not suitable for safe swimming, or if there has been excessive rainfall, we will take appropriate action and attempt to move the swim to the back up location, followed by the party as planned on Ravens Ait. Please note that participants would be responsible for travel to and from the backup location. As with any open water swim, participants ultimately swim at their own discretion and are responsible for deciding whether conditions are suitable for them on the day.

You can choose to add a picnic box to your entry which will be waiting for you on Ravens Ait. If you don't want to buy a picnic box, you can bring your own food (please ensure it fits in your small 25L bag which you will put on the baggage van). There may be other vendors on the island too, we will confirm closer to the time in your Event Info Pack.