Hung Out To Dry - what happened to public swimming in Britain?

A quick plug for Hung Out To Dry by Chris Ayriss. 

Chris sent me a review copy of his study of the history and place of public swimming in British culture a few weeks ago.  However, I confess I've not yet got around to reading it - I'll try to do so on my coming week on Granny Buttons.

It looks charming, and the fnarr-fnarr cheekiness of the title and cover photograph promises something more than a simple, dry sociological study of why public swimming became so frowned-on, and mostly now confined to small indoor pools.

British swimmers once filled the lakes, rivers and canals of England. How did these sportsmen, the pride of the nation, find themselves chased out of the water, rounded up and confined to indoor swimming pools?

Discover how pride turned to prejudice as a nation of skinny dippers sparked the development of the unique British culture of prudery. Discover religions role in our changing culture, and visit the city of Leicester; Swim City, as the swimmers past is revealed.

One thing that's very interesting - even before reading - is how Chris has published this himself, on Lulu.   Self-publishing is becoming very respectable now, and a far easier way for such quirky, specialist subjects to read the mainstream.

The book is supported by a companion website - www.hungouttodry.co.uk, naturally - although it's slightly lighter in content than I'd expected.  A tab on the site, called 'Swimming Clubs', led me to expect a guide to joining such clubs or learning to swim, but it's actually only instructions on how such clubs can order the book with a discount.  However, the site's still worth browsing to get a flavour of the book.

(The book has a strongly local flavour, explaining a lot of the story in terms of Chris's home city of Leicester.  I found this interesting because of all the cities I've boated through, Leicester has the greatest proportion of kids 'free-bathing' in the canal.  Maybe it's something in the water, so to speak!)

He's also compiled two slideshow-style YouTube videos to promote the book - I like the one embedded below the best.

Comments

[Max Sinclair]

It is a criminal offence with a £100 fine to swim in our navigable rivers and canals.
No doubt BW still have the ancient powers to deport you to Australia for life.

[Nick Corble]

I wonder, has the rise of the triathlon encouraged more wild swimming - I remember at the Sydney Olympics athletes had to swim across the harbour and there were concerns about sharks! Anyone know what the plans are for 2012? Anyway, all this talk reminded me of a sign seen by the Thames near Eton: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22943054@N06/4218115613/

[Tyson]

In future, British International Open Water swimmers will be picked only on the times achieved in a swimming pool, on the basis that if you can't do it in the pool you can't do in open water. In fact many who can do it in the pool cannot do it when faced with freezing, choppy water.

[anne 'n olly]

Have thought about using 'Lulu' to publish 'Narrowboat in Belgium' when I've finished writing it.Mind you, they did lose a friend's manuscript recently.

[iain smith]

i saw a country tracks program a couple of weeks ago which based itself in the Norfolk Broads.A section of the program talked about the upsurge in wild swimming possibly an updated version of public swimming? Admittedly you have to have costume or risk scaring the horses.