All swimming spots › Kingston upon Thames, England
Can I swim at Ham and Kingston, River Thames?
Kingston upon Thames, England · River
Checking…
Before you get in
Inland water is cold all year, and there are no lifeguards here.
If you get into trouble, float on your back until the cold shock passes. Full advice below.
In an emergency call 999, or 112 in the Republic of Ireland.
Water quality today
The last fortnight
What this verdict covers
Independent site, not an official one. This verdict is about water quality. It does not tell you whether the water is safe to get into today.
How it has been rated
The annual grade, which is worked out from bacterial samples taken over several seasons.
Every sample, 2026
20 samples, 2026. The highest E. coli count in them was 6,600 per 100ml, on 9 September 2026; the standard for Excellent is 500 or below and for Good 1,000 or below.
One bar for each sample, oldest on the left. The taller the bar, the more E. coli that bottle held.
The scale is the same on every beach on this site, which is why a clean beach looks flat — the bars are measured against the standard rather than against that beach’s own worst day. Hover or tap a bar for that day’s figures. A single count over a line is not a failed beach. The classification is worked out as the 90th and 95th percentile of four years of samples, so one bad morning does not decide it — and one good morning does not either. 2 of these are above the Good standard, so they are pinned to the top with a notch rather than the chart stretching to fit them.
What these bacteria mean for you
Neither one is what makes people ill by itself. They are markers: they live in the gut, so finding them means sewage or animal waste has reached the water, and whatever else came with it is likely there too.
The usual way to catch something is swallowing the water, and the usual result is a stomach upset. Ear, eye, chest and skin infections are the other common ones. Putting your head under and swimming with an open cut both raise the odds.
The riskiest time is the day or two after heavy rain, when storm overflows discharge and rain washes off farmland — including at beaches rated Excellent for the rest of the season. That is the whole reason this page shows you rainfall and discharges alongside the grade.
Ham and Kingston, River Thames does not currently carry an annual bathing water classification.
The Environment Agency issues a pollution risk forecast each morning during the bathing season for nearly every bathing water in England, and the water company publishes the status of its storm overflows every few minutes.
The rest of its file
What the regulator holds for this place. None of it describes the water today.
- Water
- River
- Area
- Kingston upon Thames, England
- Monitored outfalls within 5km
- 10 (nearest 1.6km)
Wind, water and weather
The weather here today and for the week ahead. Not the water quality verdict above.
Today
Rain, the week behind and ahead
The weather for the week ahead
Water temperature
There is no water temperature for this place, and no honest way to give one. Nobody publishes a live temperature for Britain and Ireland’s rivers and lakes: SEPA and Natural Resources Wales measure none at all, and the satellite products that cover lakes do not include this one and run weeks behind.
Air temperature is not a substitute. Inland water stays cold through the summer, and it is coldest relative to the air on the warm still days when most people get in. The RNLI says inland water like lakes, rivers, lochs and reservoirs can be colder than the sea, even in summer, and it defines cold water as anything below 15°C. Cold water can seriously affect your breathing and your ability to move. Treat this water as cold, get in slowly, and know how to float.
Where it is, and what discharges near it
Directions to this bathing water
That is the Environment Agency’s sampling point, which is at the water rather than at a car park. Your maps app will take you to the nearest road it can reach.
The nearest mapped car park is about 90m away in a straight line. That is not a walking distance: OpenStreetMap knows where the car park is and nothing about the path, which may be longer, steeper or not there at all. It is tagged as private, as the mappers wrote it.
What is mapped at this beach
- Toilets about 100m away — hours as mapped: Mo-Su 09:00-18:00
- YMCA Hawker Centre Cafe about 90m away
Straight-line distances from OpenStreetMap, not walking distances, and only what volunteers have mapped — something missing here may still be there.
Getting here without a car
- Nearest bus stop Tudor Drive (Stop H), RICHMOND ROAD, about 330m away
- Nearest railway station Hampton Wick Rail Station, 1.4 km away
Straight-line distances to where the stop or station is, from the national registers of them. That a stop exists is not a promise that a bus calls at it — timetables are somebody else’s data and this page does not read them, so check the operator before you rely on it.
What the regulator says about this swimming spot
From the Environment Agency’s published bathing water profile for 2026. It describes the place and its catchment, not today’s water.
The place itself
This bathing site is located on the River Thames at Kingston upon Thames, close to the Hawker Family Leisure Centre, on the same side of the river as the leisure centre. The sampling point is situated at the concrete river access ramp beside the towpath. The Thames Path runs parallel to the tow path on this stretch of the river. There is a narrow green bank, and a narrow and sloped stretch of grass between the tow path and the Thames Path. The banks along this stretch of the river are steep, and the water is deep. The site is accessible by public transport, and there is also a public car park nearby. The water quality at this bathing site is currently unknown. This bathing water has been designated in 2026 and does not yet have a classification. Water samples will be taken throughout the bathing season (15 May to 30 September). The first classification will be published after the 2026 bathing season has ended.
What drains into it
The River Thames originates in the Cotswolds, where it begins as a groundwater fed small stream. The river gradually widens, deepens, and gains flow from its main tributaries the Churn, Coln, Windrush, Evenlode, Cherwell, Ray, Thame, Ock, Kennet, Loddon, Wey, Colne, Mole Lower and Rythe, Crane and Hogsmill. Their influence, and the management of the river for navigation by locks and weirs, transforms the narrow headwater channel into a deep slower moving lowland river. This area of the River Thames, although officially not tidal, is influenced by the tides which can cause river levels to come up and down very quickly. The top of the catchment is predominantly rural, consisting largely of arable farmland, improved grassland and scattered woodland blocks, interspersed with a mix of market towns and villages. As the river progresses downstream, population density rises and the extent of urban development expands, with both settlement size and frequency increasing and ultimately giving way to a predominantly urban environment at the bathing site.
More from the profile
Where the sewage works discharges
Multiple sewage treatment works discharge treated effluent into the River Thames and its tributaries. The closest sewage company discharge point to the bathing site is the Hogsmill Sewage Treatment Works (STW) on the Hogsmill, located approximately 4 km upstream. The next closest STW is Esher on the River Mole, around 10 km upstream of the bathing site.
What has been done about it
The Environment Agency works closely with the water companies to ensure they comply with legislation.
What the samplers see at the water
Environment Agency samplers make observations of litter present on the beach at every visit, this includes assessments of sewage debris, litter and tar.
Published by the Environment Agency under the Open Government Licence. The full profile carries more, including sections repeated for every beach that are not reproduced here.
Other swimming spots nearby
The closest bathing waters on the regulators’ lists, straight-line distance. Each has its own checks and its own verdict.
Check the official source
The regulator’s own page for this bathing water. If it disagrees with this one, believe theirs.
Ham and Kingston, River Thames's official page at the Environment Agency · See it on a map
This page is not official. It reads published data and presents it plainly; if a sign at the water says otherwise, believe the sign.
If you get into trouble
This is the RNLI’s advice, not ours.
Float. Tilt your head back with your ears in the water. Relax and let your breathing settle. Move your hands and legs gently to stay level. Your legs may sink, and that is fine, everyone floats differently. The first shock of cold water passes in less than a minute, so do not try to swim straight away. Once it has passed, call for help or swim to safety.
In an emergency call 999 and ask for the fire service, or for the Coastguard at a tidal river. In the Republic of Ireland call 112 or 999.
Inland water has its own hazards and none of them are visible from the bank. The bottom shelves away without warning, weeds and submerged branches catch legs, and a river runs faster and colder after rain than it looks from the side. There are no lifeguards and no flags at almost every place on this list.
Never jump in. You cannot see what is under the surface, and the cold on entry is what causes the gasp, not the depth.
This advice is the RNLI’s. Their Float to Live pages are worth two minutes of anyone’s time.
Use this page elsewhere
One sheet of A4 with a QR code to this page, for a clubhouse, a campsite reception, a surf school or a harbour office. The address is printed underneath in words, so it still works for anybody who would rather not scan a code.
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