Research and Literature

Current Favourite:

The Outdoor Swimming Guide edited by Kathy Rodgers

I love the ethos behind The Outdoor Swimming Guide. The introduction states, ‘Please don’t take good care of this book. Cram it in your backpack or jam it your glovebox. Sit on it when the grass is wet, use it as a tiny umbrella or an impromptu plate at your post-dip picnic, circle your favourite spots and pore over it in the pub. We want this book to become your dog-eared companion, sticky with ice cream, squidged midges and squelchy mud.’ It explains so much about this book. It is not an art display book for the table, but a guide in every sense of the word. On top of that, it is very good.

That said, you do have to ‘work’ the book a bit. Think of it as a starting helping hand providing just enough info to get you pointed in the right direction. Case in point, on a recent trip to the West Midlands, it seemed that I had a substantial number of possibilities suggested by the book that quickly diminished after investigation. University of Worcester Lake proved to be a ‘no-go’, the ‘Old Bathing Place’ on the Avon recently had teenagers hospitalised after swimming in polluted waters and Droitwich Spa Lido, which I so want to love, seems only to allow for widths for swimmers who want longer distances. The book did help me find Highley Outdoor Swimming Pool though which I probably would not have discovered otherwise. So, as long as the guide is used in the spirit that further investigation is required before simply rocking up in your swimwear, then this is an invaluable resource. I hope to wear it out soon.

Sea Pools by Chris Romer-Lee

Sea Pools is a photographic collection and historical account of ‘66 saltwater sanctuaries from around the world.’ If ever a book could be described as gorgeous, this is it. Opening the pages of Sea Pools is a bit like opening a box of chocolates from all over the world. Each pool is unique and presented in stunning photographs, most often taken from an aerial perspective. There is nothing quite so evocative as a picture looking down on one or two swimmers floating on the surface of a sea pool with waves crashing just off in the distance.  Some pools are almost inconceivable (The Trinkie), some are barely separated from the in-coming seas (St James Tidal Pool) and others are inconceivably vast (Strandfontein) or remarkably small but existing in multiples (Sliema ‘Roman Baths’). Like a chocolate box, everyone will undoubtedly have their preference (mine might be Wylie’s Baths), and perhaps dream of making it to some of these wonderful pools. The photos, descriptions and history of each pool is also interspersed with lovely narrative accounts of swimming by Freya Bromley and Therese Spruhan and sea pool reflections by Kevin Fellingham and Nicole Larkin.  This is nothing short of stunning and highly recommended.

The Man Who Swam the Amazon: 3,274 Miles on the World’s Deadliest River by Martin Strel & Matthew Mohlke.

I plan to visit Slovenia soon which is home to Martin Strel an ultra marathon swimmer who has swum multiple rivers across the globe. This is another all action account written in the form of diary entries in 2007 as Strel makes his way determinedly down the Amazon with his support crew in tow. No one would imagine that swimming the Amazon would be straightforward or easy and, of course, it isn’t. Quite an adventure and a very dedicated adventurer. A link to the Guardian article covering the swim is: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/apr/09/brazil.topstories3

A Boy in the Water: Tom Gregory

Tom Gregory’s gripping account of swimming the English Channel at the age of 11 in A Boy in the Water. Sporting achievement comes in many shapes and sizes and, in this case, ages. The channel swim is mixed with other stages of his boyhood including his first impressions of visiting his local pool which reminded him of being back in a regimented school.  There is a palpable sense of foreboding about integrating with other swimmers at his local club and then being faced with swimming challenges in places such as Lake Windemere.  (Spoiler Alert) Even though I know he makes it, the book creates a sense of tension where readers can’t help but root for the boy’s success.  Highly recommended.  

Pondlife: A Swimmer’s Journey by Al Alvarez

If you’re a fan a fast-paced action-packed books, then this is unlikely to be the one for you. Alvarez’s book is a meditative study of the importance and integration of swimming into his daily life. Alvarez documents in journal entries his regular swims at Hampstead Heath in north London with a keen eye on the surrounding environment which takes in both wildlife and other swimmers. Unsurprisingly, he prefers the ponds when they are quiet and expresses a dislike for more chlorinated forms of swimming. The restorative effects that swimming provides Alvarez both physically and mentally is clear to see and told in an evocative and simple fashion. My favourite line (so far) appears when he contemplates the effect of swimming in cold water: ‘It’s good for the soul as well as the body, and it’s cheaper than psychoanalysis.’ Al Alvarez passed away in 2019.

Rest in Peace Al Alvarez.

Other Literature

  • BBC News (2017, 10 August). ‘Equality complaint sinks women-only swimming class.’  BBC News online. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-40887393
  • Collins, H. and Pajak, C. (2018) ‘The performance of swimming: disorder, difference and marginality within a publicly-accessible pool.’ Language and Intercultural Communication. 19(1), pp. 64-76.  
  • Collins, H. (2020) Mermaids, knitted costumes and pink carbolic soap: Making meaning and translating social space in community-led pools. Language and Intercultural Communication, DOI: 10.1080/14708477.2020.1833899
  • Falconer, B. (2017. 10 August). ‘Comedian Frankie Boyle weighs in to women-only swim ban row as petition momentum builds.’ Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved from http://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/comedian-frankie-boyle-weighs-women-308818 
  • Gordon, I & Inglis, S. (2009) Great Lengths: The Historic Indoor Swimming Pools of Britain (Played in Britain). English Heritage.
  • Gregory, T. (2018) A Boy in the Water. London: Penguin.
  • Harwood, A. (2017) Bathurst Bathing Belles: Ladies that swim. Poolside Press.
  • Khamis, S. (2010). Braving the Burqini: rebranding the Australian beach. Cultural Geographies. 17 (3), 379-390. doi:10.1177/1474474010368608
  • Khan, M (2016, 15 January). Germany: Male asylum seekers banned from public pools in Bornheim. International Business Times.  Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/germany-male-asylum-seekers-banned-public-pools-bornheim-1538259 
  • Klinenberg, E. (2018) Palaces for the people: How to build a more equal and united society. London: Bodley Head.
  • McMahon, J., Zehntner, C. & McGannon, K.R. (2017). Fleshy, female and forty: a docudrama of a former elite swimmer who re-immersed herself into elite swimming culture. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 1-8.doi.10/1080/2159676X.2017.1340328 
  • Paterson, T. (2013, 7 August). Swiss introduce apartheid-like restrictions: Local authorities ban asylum seekers from public places. The Independent Online. Retrived from:  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/swiss-introduce-apartheid-like-restrictions-local-authorities-ban-asylum-seekers-from-public-places-8750765.html
  • Pusill, E. Wilkinson, J. (2019) The Lido Guide. London: Unbound
  • Reade, J. A. (2016). The female body on Instagram: Is fit the new it? Reinvention: an International Journal of Undergraduate Research. 9(1). Retrieved from http://www.warwick.ac.uk/reinventionjournal/issues/volume9issue1/reade
  • Scott, J. (2014) ‘Rebecca Adlington: Why are we closing our swimming pools?’ BBC News [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-25713326 (Accessed 6 April 2017)
  • Scott, S. (2009). ‘Reclothing the emperor: The swimming pool as a negotiated order.’ Symbolic interaction. 32 (2), 123-145. doi:10.1525/si.2009.32.2.123
  • Scott, S. (2010). ‘How to look good (nearly) naked: The performative regulation of the swimmer’s body.’ Body & Society, 16 (2), 143-168. doi:10.1177/1357034X10364768
  • Scott, J. (2014) ‘Rebecca Adlington: Why are we closing our swimming pools?’ BBC News [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-25713326 (Accessed 6 April 2017)
  • Smith, J. (2005) Liquid Assets: The Lidos and Open Air Swimming Pools of Britain (Played in Britain). Malavan Media
  • Wiltse, J. (2007). Contested waters: A social history of swimming pools in America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
  • Women and Theatre (2019) ‘Into the Water Research Blog 1’. Available at: https://womenandtheatre.co.uk/into-the-water-research-blog-1/