Outdoor swimming used to be one of the most popular leisure activities in Britain, but as more and more indoor pools have been built and concerns about health and safety have increased, it seems that the outdoor swimmer has been hung out to dry.

Leicester-born author, Chris Ayriss, has written a book about the history of swimming in Britain. Called ‘Hung Out to Dry’, the book covers the changes to British swimming habits over hundreds of years.

Chris, a keen swimmer himself, dedicates a chapter to Leicester’s swimming history, revealing that the city’s relationship with bathing extends over more than 2,000 years. Ayriss covers topics like Leicester Roman Baths, children being taught to swim in the river Soar, the popularity of swimming in Abbey Park (pictured above) and the building of the city’s first indoor pool on New Walk in the 1840s, in a chapter labelled; Leicester: Swim City.

Hung Out to Dry is an extremely detailed yet entertaining account of the history of outdoor swimming in the UK. It has taken Chris a decade of research and writing to put this book together and sees plenty of interesting topics covered as you flick through the pages.

The following quote, take from the introduction, sets the scene of the book…

“Growing up in the baby boom generation, my friends and I enjoyed a freedom that most of today’s youngsters are denied. The streets and parks swarmed with children and our love of the outdoors enriched our lives. Such liberty seems impossible today as child protection has cleared the streets, but in those days children wandered about everywhere and I discovered a great deal while enjoying my freedom.”

Ayriss goes on to celebrate and reminisce about a culture and way of life that now appears lost to British youngsters, but also examines why and how swimming and bathing habits have changed so much over the years.

Chris, pictured below with his wife Ann, explained his experiences of writing the book.

“It all began when I enrolled on a basic literacy course at Leicester College following a test for dyslexia. I was asked to write about something I was interested in and so I began to put into words what I had discovered about Leicester’s swimming history.

“As a child I enjoyed cycling and exploring the city with my friends. I always stopped to admire Leicester’s premier riverside lido – The Bede House Bathing Station, which is located to the left of the Statue of Liberty on Upperton Road.

“I gazed in wonder at the large sign on the back wall, which read: ‘FOR SWIMMING ONLY – WATER 8 FOOT DEEP’. This clearly painted sign was in such contrast to the smaller notice attached to the canal bridge: ‘WARNING – this water is unsuitable for swimming – DO NOT BATHE’.

“As I had witnessed many young swimmers enjoying the waterways on my travels, I wondered why the Corporation had gone to all the trouble of building this wonderful swimming pool into the river and canal and then gone on to close it? No one seemed to know what had happened to the Bede House, but I was determined to find out. Hung Out to Dry is the culmination of my efforts to research, write and publish my work.”

Researching the book was quite an undertaking but also a labour of love, as Chris explained.

“What began as a simple research exercise into the demise of outdoor swimming in Leicester, led me firstly to Leicester’s Record’s Office, and from there to London, Oxford and Cambridge, where I both studied the history of swimming and enjoyed the waters at all the locations mentioned in the book. I was inspired to tell the story of the British swimmer and through it reveal how our unique culture evolved. I took my whole family with me on these field trips which often included swimming our way around the country in rivers, lakes, lidos and the sea!

“Outdoor swimming is a delight during the summer months and bears no comparison to the concrete world of the indoor pool. I hope that through the publication of this book, the British public will be tempted to return to their waters in the great outdoors.”

With the weather starting to improve and people’s minds turning to the summer, this book could just wet people’s appetite for an outdoor swim.

Overall ‘Hang Out to Dry’ is an extremely interesting and informative book, which is a useful reference tool and an entertaining read.

For more information on Hung Out to Dry or to order your copy of the book visit www.hungouttodry.co.uk.