Epic Swim co.

Peter Coulahan – Penarth to Clevedon, May 2026.

Peter travelled over from Ireland having booked the earliest slot in the season, and to say he was blessed with the weather is an understatement!

Low wind and barely cloud in the sky, we started the swim at 0720 from Penarth slipway.

Peter made solid ground for the first couple of hours to put us in a great place near Flat Holm Island. We took the route around the outside of the island, giving us the shortest path across the shipping lane during slack tide.

We headed over towards English soil as the current shifted, and started to follow the Coast up towards Clevedon. It’s always a long slog at this point, but Peter showed great consistency throughout, stopping very briefly to feed before getting his head back down again.

Peter didn’t miss a beat, and before long we were cruising towards Clevedon and passing the pier. Peter landed in a time of seven hours and two minutes with what we think is the earliest official BCSA Channel Swim (pending ratification).

Congratulations Peter, it was a pleasure working with you. Hopefully catch you again soon. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇮🇪

Here at Epic, we cover the Penarth to Clevedon, Penarth to Weston, Flat Holm island and Penarth to Barry swims. For swims at the "Deep end" such as Swansea to Ilfracombe, check out Monster Swims

Flat Holm to Steep Holm island - Bryce Davies, October 2025 😎

I had had this route in mind for a couple of years. To swim from one tiny island to another tiny island in the middle of the world’s second largest tidal range is a ridiculous idea. To our knowledge it’s never been done before.

We love Pioneering new routes, and going Guinea pig on any silly ideas we have. Who knows if you don’t try?

I plotted the route late the night before, spotting a small window of opportunity with the weather. A tricky passage that involves swimming at right angles to the strong currents. Start the swim too early and you get swept past the island, start too late and you end up going backwards before you reach your destination.

We left Flat Holm at 7:30am and swam out into the channel, with the first half an hour taking me directly across the shipping lane and directly into the wind creating a healthy slap in the face with every stroke.

At the halfway point we were on target, passing the buoy that marks the edge of the shipping lane. So far so good.

Some minor adjustments to the course by the Skipper kept me on track for the next section as the water slowed down and the current started to turn. I kept my head down and kept swimming strong, scared to ease off knowing that the tide would soon be against me.

It soon became evident that it just might be possible, I was a couple of hundred metres from the island. A local seal popped up right by my toes and followed me to the island, thankfully without me realising. The last 50m the treadmill showed up and I inched my way forward, slowly making way towards the beach, terrified that I wouldn’t make it at this final stage.

One last push and I crawled onto the tiny rocky beach in a time of 1hr 35 minutes, clocking a distance of 4.5k. I was so stoked to land it successfully as it was never a done deal at any point.
As I left the beach the seal popped her head up again, positioning herself between me and the boat. One last hurdle! 😂. Luckily, she was friendly, and I swam back to the boat unharmed.

It has yet to be repeated... We are taking bookings for this crossing for 2026 (a small number of slots available) and 2027 😎

Penarth to Weston - Mathew Todd 2025

Mathew has swam with us a few times the last couple of years, first on the original Escape from Flat Holm swim event with Swim Wild Wales , and then earlier in 2025 year from Penarth to Barry.

Mathew booked a channel swim at the start of the season with us, opting for the slightly shorter (but tougher) Weston route rather than the longer (but easier) Clevedon route, with Weston having more of a personal draw for him.

On previous swims in the Bristol channel, Mathew has experienced sea-sickness, the only place he has ever experienced it! It must be something to do with the huge tides, strong winds and relentless chop we have here. Nevertheless, Matthew was undeterred and kept focus on the mission ahead, finding practical ways to combat the hurdle.

Despite it being the end of September, the weather presented us with beautiful conditions, barely any wind and booming sunshine. We started the swim at 9am from Penarth slipway using the northerly currents to take us out of Cardiff.

This route is really tough going. The currents offer little in assistance for the entire first half of the swim, and progress is slow. As the tide turned, we started dropping south, but due to our position needed to swim hard at a right angle against the currents which were trying to pull us away from England.

Matthew dug deep, feeding every 45 minutes, stopping and starting as quickly as possible to avoid drifting in the wrong direction.

It was a long slog! For a few hours we worked really hard to hold our line, aiming for Brean down, the southern Peninsula of Weston and our very last option to make land.

It was touch and go for awhile, but Matthew toughed it out, swimming into the bay at Weston and making land in a time of 8hrs 10 minutes.

Huge Kudos for completing the swim! It was an Epic day out and truly a great achievement. 👊🏻

If you fancy a challenge, this route is not for the faint hearted. Get in touch if you’d like to attempt it in 2027. 😎

Penarth to Barry - Andrew, Gwawr and Aeron - 2025 season.

Another lumpy ride in the Bristol Channel!

Andrew and Gwawr have been regular swimmers with me for a few years now, having started out doing coached sessions and smaller coastal swims, slowly building up confidence and experience in the area.

They got in touch at the start of season with the aim of Swimming from Penarth to Barry at the end of summer. They have spent all season training in all conditions, building up distance and challenging themselves regularly, working hard to get to this point.

Aeron recently got in touch discussing the logistics and experience that he would need for a channel crossing. He decided that this route would be a great training swim for this season and was in a very similar place to Andrew and Gwawr. I thought it would be a great opportunity for them to swim together, and take on this challenge as a group.

The wind decided to show up a bit more than expected, but that wasn’t gonna stop us. It was a very awkward direction for the wind to be blowing, meaning that throughout the entire swim there was no respite.

Straight from the start we had rolling waves and chop hitting the swimmers from the left, but they all took it in their stride, taking it in turns to lead and naturally working together as a group.
It was particularly lumpy around Sully Island as usual, and feeding in the bouncy water was a challenge.

We made our way over towards Jackson‘s Bay and caught the big rollers that the wind blew in from offshore straight into the beach.

The last 500m of a swim like this can often be the hardest, as you can see the finish line but it doesn’t seem to get closer.

They swam into shore in a time of 2hrs 30 minutes, and were welcomed in by some local swimmers and friends, showing what great support and love there is within this local community.

A huge well done to all three swimmers, it was a pleasure guiding you on this adventure and can’t wait to see what this season brings for you. All 3 are booked in even bigger challenges!

See you in the water. 😎

A 12k swim from Penarth to Barry with Maddy, Lisa and Anna last season.

This swim hasdbeen planned since the start of the year for Anna and Lisa who have been keen for an adventure in the Bristol Channel.

Maddy decided to join in last minute due to the Dart 10k recently being cancelled, and she also has a channel swim booked with us this year, so a perfect route for a skins training swim. 🏊‍♀️

The NE winds meant a choppy 1st half with plenty of bounce and rollers for the 1st hour.

As we came around Lavernock point and headed past Sully island we had a bit of shelter and the swimmers settled into a nice rhythm, lapping up the full force of the tide and wind behind them.

We also had the pleasure of bumping into a couple of old friends of mine out for a sail around the island! Andy is a member of Sully sailing club and regularly sails his dinghies around the area, so I knew I’d bump into him sooner or later. Check out his cool videos, music and artwork on his page. 😎

The last 4k stretch was a cruise, with a tough last 500m breaking out of the spring tide flow and into Whitmore Bay, finishing the swim in a great time of 2hrs 39mins.
Good luck to the ladies on your future swims, will be sure to catch you all soon. 👊🏻

Michael Tsang - Penarth to Clevedon. 05/09/25 with Epic Swim co.

A look back at this awesome swim from last year. Michael is back with us this season to tick off another route 💪🏻

After an unsettled week, Friday offered a welcome window and a significant drop in the wind. We notified Michael, and he dropped tools and headed from London to Penarth for a 10.20 swim start from Penarth slipway.

The slightly bigger tide meant we plotted a route that took us outside of Flat Holm island rather than inside, a great option for when the currents are running stronger in the channel.

Michael settled into what would be a very solid and consistent rhythm for the duration of the swim. A steady stroke count and pace, we tracked down the channel towards the islands in great time, and got into a great position as we approached the shipping lane.

We communicated with a large vessel coming up the channel who kindly gave us a wide berth, slipping behind us as we crossed the shipping lane and made great progress towards the England shores.

The currents turned and swung us north, gradually building in speed. Thanks to Michaels great position, we had the flow behind us as we held a great line up toward Clevedon, with Michael still looking as solid as he did in the start.

Michael came into Clevedon slip in a time of 6hrs 7mins. Congratulations on a great swim. 💪🏻

Thanks to Steve for observing for the ratification of the swim and good conversations on the boat.

We are taking bookings for next year already. Get in touch to discuss swimming the channel in 2027. Check out Monster Swims for an even bigger challenge over at the “Deep end” 😎

.wales