HUNG OUT TO DRY Swimming and British Culture - Chris Ayriss

Hidden beneath the history of British swimming is the key to understanding our unique culture. Wild Swimming may seem like a new craze but that's because the British had reason to shun outdoor swimming at home whilst our European and American cousins continued splashing about in the great outdoors abroad. This book carries you through time, visiting the major milestones that have swung British swimmers in and out of favour over the last 2,000 years. Our rivers, lakes and beaches once teamed with swimming enthusiasts unflinchingly braving cold water and bad weather to prove their mettle and strengthen their constitution. We became famous worldwide as a pioneering nation of eccentric swimmers. Yet just as our European neighbours were learning to adopt our watery ways, British swimmers were rounded up, chased out of open water and confined to indoor swimming pools. Read 'Hung Out to Dry' and you will see the British as never before!