Author: otleyhaynes

Winter Water Swimming

The tradition of swimmers dressed in a wide spectrum of regalia from Santa suits to nun habits wading into cold oceans, lakes and rivers shows no sign of abating here in the UK. In my hometown of Otley, West Yorkshire, the local newspaper (see link) estimated that nearly 100 swimmers, including me, braved the waters…

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If you’re ever in Valencia….

On a recent visit to Valencia, I was excited to find that it had just opened an ‘ocean pool’ near the marina not far from the city centre (see link below). It even had a lane or two for those who wanted to get their laps in. When I pitched up to find out more…

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The Wonderful & Frightening World of Swimming Costumes

The rules and significance of swimming costumes are never straightforward. Even the terms ‘costumes’, ‘swimsuit’ and ‘bathing suit’ are in themselves peculiar. The blog image here is courtesy of Joe Stanhope from Jubilee Park swimming pool in Lincolnshire. Their ban on thongs drew substantial media attention and Joe mentioned to me that he had observed…

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Full-bodied Swimsuit Protest in France

The issue of inclusivity in public swimming pools can be one which is fraught with tension. Pool management often relies on categories of swimmers (lap, general, free, aqua aerobics, women only, adults only etc) to regulate pool access. An additional layer of regulation relates to swimwear. In France, a number of pools have issued swimwear…

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Ilkley Clean Water Campaign

While publicly-accessible indoor swimming facilities in the UK are on the decrease, outdoor or ‘wild’ swimming similarly is increasingly difficult to access and swimmers face a number of barriers. One local example is the Wharfe river which swimmers have historically used particularly on one section just outside of Ilkley. However, issues with the release of…

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