Wild Swimming - News Room

The Leicester Mercury reports: A 100-metre slip’n’slide will be helping to raise money for the Loros hospice at a family event this summer. The popular ride will be at this year’s Family Fun Day at Leicester Racecourse on Sunday, August 7. Loros fundraising co-ordinator Laura Fitzsawyer said: “Slip’n’slides are brilliant fun and we wanted “Leicester Racecourse have always been really supportive of us and we asked them about putting on an event with a slip’n’slide and they sai

The Telegraph reports: Organisers of Stert Island Swim, which was first held in 1915, cancel 2016 event after waters are deemed unsafe by EU – despite apparently being cleaner than ever. The Stert Island Swim, which takes place every year off Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, has fallen foul of the EU’s decision to significantly increase the pass-mark for safe bathing waters. Burnham Jetty North was one of 10 beaches that were previously regarded as safe but have been deemed too di

Basel City of Culture Basel is a remarkable city from a swimmers perspective. The local police have produced the following advice leaflet for swimmers! You can buy a large waterproof swim bag for about £20.00 and join the city swimmers. Wickelfisch bags Basel Switzerland You can tell were not in England can’t you! You will never forget swimming in Basel, its so like the London Thames. See the video for more information… #WaterSports #swimming #river #SwimmingandDiving #Openwa

Wild Swimming in the Serpentine The Wall Street Journal reports: LONDON—This is Emily Chong’s routine, rain or shine, winter or summer: Wake up, eat breakfast, cycle to Hyde Park, jump in a lake, swim a bit, fuel up with a second breakfast, cycle to work. One chilly morning this year, she found a team of police divers alongside the lake’s resident swans, looking for the body of a man who had drowned the night before. Ms. Chong put on her Spider-Man swim cap and dived in. “As

This is the question I asked and I believe I have found the answer in Switzerland… #health #WaterSports #Sports #swimming #river #SwimmingandDiving #Openwaterswimming #wildswimming #Swimmingpool #CultureoftheUnitedKingdom #Recreation #lido #OutdoorSwimmingSociety #BritishSwimming #TravelandTourism #England

I love Wild Swimming! #health #WaterSports #Openwaterswimming #wildswimming #CultureoftheUnitedKingdom #OutdoorSwimmingSociety #TravelandTourism #England #NationalTrust

A blast from the Past! #WaterSports #history #Openwaterswimming #wildswimming #Swimmingpool #OutdoorSwimmingSociety

Upper Letten River Pool Having spent a week in Switzerland, I’m staggered at the difference in attitude towards swimming in Europe compared to attitudes here in England. Some might argue that we are European and on paper that’s  true yet the prejudice shown towards swimmers here is in marked contrast to our European cousins. Dive into the Letten Zürich Having said this you can’t swim just anywhere in Switzerland, warnings are given when rivers are too high as well as about da

Happy days! Bathing at Chertsey. #WaterSports #history #swimming #river #SwimmingandDiving #wildswimming #CultureoftheUnitedKingdom #BritishSwimming #TravelandTourism #Chertsey

Hamilton Pool grotto is a historic pool located just 45 minutes outside Austin. In the summer it can get very busy so its best to get there early. During warm-weather days when swimming is allowed the number of people trying to visit the pool greatly exceeds the number the canyon can accommodate so a waiting line forms and people are allowed to enter as others leave.  The waiting time is typically one and a half hours. Hamilton Pool 24300 Hamilton Pool Rd Dripping Springs TX7

The Irish Examiner reports: More than 500 swimmers braved the waters of the River Lee in Cork on Saturday as part of the annual 2km Lee Swim. Cork Masters Swimming Club and Cork Lions Club run the swim annually as a charity event. The Lee Swim was a major event in the sporting calendar during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. However, due to deteriorating water quality in the River Lee, the event was moved to Monkstown in the 1950s. Following the commissioning of the Cork Main Dra

I had the pleasure of being invited into Radio Leicester this morning to discuss the opening of the bathing beach at Rutland water. To listen please use the link below and fast forward to one hour thirty-six minutes… BBC Radio Leicester Listen now… #WaterSports #history #swimming #BBCRadioLeicester #river #SwimmingandDiving #Openwaterswimming #wildswimming #Swimmingpool #CultureoftheUnitedKingdom #Recreation #OutdoorSwimmingSociety #BritishSwimming #Leicester #TravelandTouris

A rare glimpse of Heddon Court bathing place provided for wild swimmers in years gone by. In an effort to preserve modesty, encourage cleanliness and educate swimmers, bathing places like this were built across the country. facility’s were meager; a bathing attendant, a changing hut (offering shelter to clothing in poor weather), a diving run and some steps attracted swimmers from miles around. As you can see we don’t need much to enjoy open water. One essential sadly lacking

As the school holidays approach warnings about summer swimming are surfacing again. But the news is not all bad, negative attitudes are being eroded. Members of the River and Lake Swimming Association in conjunction with the Outdoor Swimming Society are pushing hard on the door to swimming freedom. Attitudes are changing! Just this week a bathing beach opened on Rutland Water allowing people to swim free! Its true, one swallow doesn’t make a summer and there is still a long w

Rutland Water Bathing Beach will be open for SWIMMING tomorrow! Set on a grassy bank, surrounded by woodland, this carefully chosen location at Sykes Lane is the result of years of consideration by Anglian Water Services. Robert Aspey, Inland Access Officer for the Outdoor Swimming Society has worked tirelessly advising and encouraging access for swimmers and this will be a giant leap forward for any water authority. No swimming has always been the rule at Rutland Water, but

This is a very popular river swim. Set in the grounds of Skenfrith castle with plenty of free parking and extensive pick-nick lawns. Suitable for swimming, paddling, tubing etc #WaterSports #river #SwimmingandDiving #wildswimming #CultureoftheUnitedKingdom #Recreation #OutdoorSwimmingSociety #TravelandTourism

Changing Tents on Margate Sands Next time you visit the seaside, keep a lookout for one of those old coin operated telescopes on the seafront. Take a good look at the view and you may wonder why on earth anyone would pay good money to look up and down a featureless empty beach. If you wanted a closer look why not walk onto the sands? The picture below may give you a clue, its all related to decency. At a time when working class people had little opportunity to wash at home an

This sixty-foot, rock water slide may very well be Western North Carolina’s most famous naturally occurring thrill ride. Eleven-thousand gallons of water runs over Sliding Rock every minute, making your trip fast, heart-racing and unforgettable. Summer brings large crowds of all ages looking to take the plunge, but watching others take the ride is very nearly as much fun as experiencing it yourself. You’ll also be happy to know that a lifeguard is on duty from 10 a.m. to 5:30

National Geographic ran an article with photographs by Daniel Hjorth capturing the essence of ice swimming in the faces of children as they emerged from the freezing water. “Ice swimming is a pretty common thing here,” Hjorth explains. “Denmark is a small country with many islands, and the sea is never more than few hours away. Summertime and high temperatures only last a few months so if you want to enjoy the water you have to get used to the cold.” “Some kids stay in the wa

Up and down the country, bathing places like this proved very popular, but you may wonder: why were they built and why have they closed? British culture is full of interesting eccentricity’s and there is no simple answer. In Hung Out to Dry Swimming and British Culture I attempt to explain some of the major influences that led us to the heyday of river, lake and sea bathing and then on to the prejudice shown towards outdoor bathers today. I have included an exert below: The S