A large pool, up to 2m deep, beneath the arched medieval bridge of Crickhowell. Rather open and visible, but fun if others are swimming too. Also paddling and shallow pools for miles along path upriver from the bridge.
Place Categories: River Swims and Wild Swim.
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[…] miss: On a hot day, there is nothing better than plunging into the crystal clear waters under the arched medieval bridge of Crickhowell a short distance from Abergavenny. There is one large pool which is about 2m deep and several […]
-8 of the best adventure activities in Wales, Aug 09, 2016 - Crickhowell, Usk
My friend and I swam here in early August 2015. Easy to find, parking at the pub. Very easy access from the bank, shallow to start then gets deeper quickly but water is clear so was easy to see change. Pebbly so swim shoes advisable as usual.
There is a small weir just upstream, between you and the bridge. This creates a lot of foam but is was easy to avoid that as it stays by the weir. Not a large area to swim in but we just swam in circles, avoiding the faster current on the far side.
Yes, you are very overlooked by the pub garden and we had quite an audience on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Still, they were all very complimentary about our braveness when we got out so no problem. Our partners enjoyed a beer whilst we swam and got us warming coffees when we got out. We used the pub loos to change in after our swim which was no problem as we were customers, albeit dripping ones!
We thoroughly enjoyed the river swim experience, a novelty for us as we usually swim in the sea.-Caroline Douglas, Jan 03, 2016 - Crickhowell, Usk
We went swimming here a few days ago on a gloriously hot day and it was lovely! The steps down to the river are via the lovely pub garden of the Bridge End. I advise that you park at the pub (mere seconds from the river) get yourself some pints (Old Speckled Hen and Hobgoblin on tap when we went) and tootle down. We had our three dogs with us who were frantic to get in the water, but we managed dogs, pints, and kit all right.
As we have had the rainiest spring since time immemorial the river was quite high, but the current was easily managed. Its a smooth-stone bottom and an easy, gradual wade in. It pools out deeply in the middle and you get a lovely series of vignettes looking through the many arches of the old bridge. It is exposed and as we were the only swimmers for a while we got a lot of friendly attention (our three ridiculous hounds might have played a small role in this). But more swimmers arrived shortly and our novelty diminished.
Overall it was lovely day out and a spot we will definitely return to. We hope to explore the pools further upstream next time as well.
-Kate Singer, Jul 25, 2012 - Crickhowell, Usk
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[…] miss: On a hot day, there is nothing better than plunging into the crystal clear waters under the arched medieval bridge of Crickhowell a short distance from Abergavenny. There is one large pool which is about 2m deep and several […]