Wild Swimming - News Room

Specific river bathing areas became necessary when Matthew Webb opened the floodgates to outdoor swimming by conquering the Channel in 1875. Boys in particular took the distance swimming challenge to heart, unperturbed that a lack of swimwear was scandalising the ladies. Indoor and outdoor pools were to follow as a means of containing and controlling the increasingly popular swimming movement. A legacy of these times is evident in many areas with no swimming signs proliferati

Opening on Saturday the 25th May 2013 until May 2014 The Fashion Gallery at Snibston Discovery Museum, Coalville. ‘Taking the Plunge’ is an exhibition showcasing the history of men’s and women’s swimwear, from the full coverage of the 1890s to the ‘barely there’ of the present day. The displays will chart the development of swimwear from the health promoting properties of sea bathing in the 1890s, to examining the changing attitudes of sun bathing in the 1920s, through to th