Wild Swimming News

The Melton Times reports: New photo exhibition is a fascinating look back through Melton’s history. An exhibition displaying fascinating images of the town’s past was opened to the public on Saturday and it will run through to July 7. Many of the pictures, which have been taken from collections kept by the Thorpe End museum and the Record Office for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, have not previously been seen by the general public. There is also an image showing outdo

Pollution has changed the face of river swimming across the world. Not that pollution in itself has put people off outdoor swimming. In the UK for instance, summertime tradition sees holidaymakers keen to paddle and swim in the sea despite pollution on many beaches. Rather, the public perception that rivers and lakes are unsafe or unclean is so intrenched that it is rarely questioned. Rather like the beguiled Emperor in Hans Christian Anderson’s: The Emperor’s New Clothes, to

Adelaide Now reports: A 100-year-old swimming club that started in the River Torrens is closing but only after sharing its $450,000 nest egg with the community. Gilberton Swimming Club will spread the money among the Walkerville, Klemzig, Vale Park and East Adelaide Primary schools. The $450,000 sum has grown from about $150,000 the state government paid the club when it was forced out of the Torrens swimming hole in 1970. A ban on swimming in the river displaced the club, wh

Jenny Landreth of the Telegraph reports: The joy of swimming in lidos – and what they tell us about ourselves. There are people for whom the notion of a lido …is not appealing at all.  Some people would only consider dipping their toe into an outdoor pool on a Mediterranean summer holiday where the temperatures barely drop below 30 degrees. Some of course would prefer not to share with anyone outside immediate family. Some swimmers need a roof. And for ‘wild’ swimmers, lidos 

The Observer reports: Swimmers across Britain will greet the longest day by plunging into a pool tomorrow. Many will take that summer solstice dip amid the splendour of a restored public lido or municipal baths as the national appetite for preserving historic leisure facilities grows. In Penzance, the Jubilee Pool reopened last month following a £3m repair project after storm damage in 2014. The pool, built in 1935, was first reopened in 1994 after falling into disrepair. The

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

This site was a very popular swimming place, later reconstructed with steps into the water for swimmers. Swimming often took place under bridges as they provided easy access to the water whilst at the same time they hid swimmers from public view. Discover more about the history of British swimming… #Nottingham #riverswimming #TrentBridge #wildswimming #history

Of course it is. Swimming lessons, swimming galas and leisure swimming all take place at the swimming pool. We might like to take a dip at the seaside, but to be honest, for most people, the indoor swimming pool is as good as swimming is ever likely to get. The fearful thought of swimming beyond the confines of the indoor pool is a legacy bestowed on a nation indoctrinated by teachings that pool swimming is safe and that open water swimming is foolhardy and dangerous. The rou

The City of Leicester holds a rich treasure trove of history dating back to Roman times. Discover a 2,000 year history that will surprise, sadden and hopefully inspire you. #JennyFletcher #history #swimming #riverswimming #LearningtoSwim #AbbeyPark #wildswimming #SwimmingPoolsandSpas #BedehouseBathingStation #Leicester #JohnJarvis #DanielLambert

Enjoy this concise history of British swimming! #history #swimming

When we think ‘swimming’, we mostly think of cold changing rooms, chilly water, damp towels and the pungent smell of chlorine. Despite the evident joy and enthusiasm of children, indoor swimming is just about as far as you can get from a natural experience. Mind you, prison was never intended to be pleasurable. It may surprise you to discover that Indoor swimming baths were built as cauldrons for poor bathers and as containment for the rowdy enthusiasm of skinny dipping men a

Fred Rowntree designed and constructed these swimming baths in 1908 at a cost approaching £3,000. The original design held 226,890 gallons of water and measured 144 feet long by 51 feet wide. The shallow end was 3 feet deep and the deep end was 6 feet 9 inches. It was presented to the city of York on 4th May 1909. Originally open-air, its roof was added in 1964/5. A major refurbishment was carried out in 2007. The health benefits swimmers enjoy are amplified even further when

Beccles River Bathing Place 1905 Highlights and Early History of River Bathing at Beccles Test your knowledge at the end! 1862 WARNING: To Bathers. All persons who are found bathing in the RIVER WAVENEY between the Smelt House and 200 yards below Beccles Bridge after 9 o’clock in the morning, will be PROSECUTED according to law. 1867 COUNCIL: Public Bathing Place suggested. 1873 Saw the purchase of the Old Granary on the banks of the river Waveney in Puddingmoor for the sum o

From Kent History Forum, Shell remembers: “I loved the Strand as a child, to me it seemed it was my very own personal playground! From the start of summer at the age of five, until the end of summer when I was eleven, my mum was in charge of the boating pool at the Strand, and also kept an eye on the paddling pool next door. She’d stand around in her waders in the water for most of the day, helping people in and out of the boats, charging 20p for half an hour. Almost every Sc

From a modern perspective, swimming was a very British sport. After years or religious and superstitious suppression it was in Britain that swimming reemerged as an acceptable, desirable pastime. With the birth of the industrial revolution social changes forced swimmers away from their birthright, out of rivers and lakes and into man-made enclosures. No Swimming at Sparth Even so swimmers were allowed a great deal of freedom indoors, but even these freedoms have now been erod

In the UK we have our own ideas when it comes to right and wrong and public safety. Separated by a wide expanse of water from our American cousins and a much narrower channel from our European partners, our Island mentality is costing lives. In America and Europe outdoor swimming is the expected norm. Summer is a happy time of playful water fun but American and European attitudes seem to have no place here. Britain once led the world into a new association with water. Mass ed

These pictures of Bains Des Paquis (Geneva, Switzerland) remind me of so many photographs of our great British swimming past. The difference in Switzerland is that rather than lying in ruins, river and lake bathing places are very much up and running. You can swim here and enjoy living history! As developed and sophisticated as Switzerland has become, it has not developed the prejudice towards outdoor swimmers that brands UK swimming. Find out more about this fantastic swimmi

Western Daily Press reports: “The oldest surviving open-air swimming baths in the UK, in Bath, are set to be fully restored and reopened to the public. The Grade II listed Cleveland Pools – a 200-year-old Georgian lido – has secured funding of £4.1 million, including a development grant of £366,200, from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The restoration project, run by community group The Cleveland Pools Trust, will conserve the Georgian features and upgrade the facilities to allow

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

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