of the River Parrett. A continuous coastal path, the Wales Coast Path, was opened in May 2012 along the entire Welsh shore under the auspices of the Countryside Council for Wales. Swimming records First person to swim across the Bristol Channel The first person to swim across the Bristol Channel was Kathleen Thomas, a 21-year-old woman from Penarth who swam to Weston-super-Mare on 5 September 1927. She completed the swim, nominally 11 miles but equivalent to 22 miles because of tidal flows, in 7 hours 20 minutes. In 2007 the achievement was marked by a plaque on the seafront at Penarth. There is also a plaque at Anchor Head in Weston-super-Mare. Youngest person to swim across the Bristol Channel In 1929, Edith Parnell, a 16-year-old schoolgirl, emulated Kathleen Thomas's swim from Penarth to Weston-super-Mare in 10 hours 15 minutes. Edith later became the first wife of Hugh Cudlipp the Welsh journalist and newspaper editor. Ilfracombe to Swansea The first person to swim the from Ilfracombe to Swansea was Gethin Jones, who achieved the record on 13 September 2009, taking nearly 22 hours. Penarth to Clevedon The youngest person to swim the Bristol Channel from Penarth to Clevedon is Gary Carpenter who in August 2007, at the age of 17, swam the channel in 5 hours 35 minutes. He held the record for the fastest swim across the Bristol Channel until 2020. Carpenter's coach Steve Price was the first person to swim from Penarth to Clevedon, in 1990. In 2020 Joanne Jones swam from Penarth to Clevedon in a time of 5 hours, 27 minutes. Joanne was the first woman to swim this route, and holds the current record for fastest time. References Channels of England Channels of Wales Landforms of Devon Landforms of Somerset England–Wales border River Severn South West England West Country Marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean