- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: Jon Carpenter (22 July 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0954972708
- ISBN-13: 978-0954972707
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 14.8 x 1.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 591,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Book Description
‘Deep water: no swimming’: that is the welcome we get at many of our most appealing lakes, while the Environment Agency tells us not to swim in any river, lake or canal. Yet for centuries we used to swim in fresh waters. In this plea to reclaim a watery freedom Jean Perraton marshals the words of ordinary people, and evocative poets, who enjoyed wild swimming and vividly recorded its delights.
She tests the dangers of swimming, real but often exaggerated, and maps the legal limits used by timid authorities to justify their bans. Swimming Against the Stream argues for more tolerance towards a simple, harmless pleasure and provides practical suggestions to help recover a disappearing freedom.
The book traces the history of swimming from a twelfth-century lady in the abbot’s fishpond to a twenty-first century broadcaster splooshing in the water. Their enthusiasms form an unexpected anthology of inland swimming set against the dry facts of the European Bathing Water Directive, the law on access to water, and the dangers of accidents and disease. Together, the wet and dry chapters balance emotional response against a cool appraisal of risk and reality, giving double strength to the case for changed attitudes and new policies.
The result is a book that is both a delight and a practical compendium for anyone concerned with policy towards our heritage of lakes and rivers. It concludes with practical measures that could be taken now to enable more people to enjoy this pleasurable and environmentally benign activity.
She tests the dangers of swimming, real but often exaggerated, and maps the legal limits used by timid authorities to justify their bans. Swimming Against the Stream argues for more tolerance towards a simple, harmless pleasure and provides practical suggestions to help recover a disappearing freedom.
The book traces the history of swimming from a twelfth-century lady in the abbot’s fishpond to a twenty-first century broadcaster splooshing in the water. Their enthusiasms form an unexpected anthology of inland swimming set against the dry facts of the European Bathing Water Directive, the law on access to water, and the dangers of accidents and disease. Together, the wet and dry chapters balance emotional response against a cool appraisal of risk and reality, giving double strength to the case for changed attitudes and new policies.
The result is a book that is both a delight and a practical compendium for anyone concerned with policy towards our heritage of lakes and rivers. It concludes with practical measures that could be taken now to enable more people to enjoy this pleasurable and environmentally benign activity.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an impressive account of the history and practice of wild swimming in the UK and government attitudes towards it. It is also a beautifully written account of wild swimming through the ages and the author's own love of the water.
Jean believes that, in our affluent and polluting society, we need to regain a delight in simple pleasures, such as swimming in natural waters, pleasures that re-unite us with the earth that sustains us. Her concern for the environment stretches back almost as far as her love of wild swimming. With a degree in geography and a diploma in town planning, she has struggled with environmental problems in various capacities and countries, as a university researcher in Cambridge, a regional planner in Botswana, rural policy manager in Cambridgeshire and a planning consultant in Barbados. She is President of the Rivers and Lakes Swimming Association (RALSA) and also chairs the Cam Valley Forum, which seeks to conserve and improve the environment of the river Cam.
No better analysis of the issues and trends exist. As wild swimming gains in popularity this book will increasingly become an important reference and resource for policy makers and campaigners, and as a fascinating read for anyone interested in the great outdoors or swimming.
Jean believes that, in our affluent and polluting society, we need to regain a delight in simple pleasures, such as swimming in natural waters, pleasures that re-unite us with the earth that sustains us. Her concern for the environment stretches back almost as far as her love of wild swimming. With a degree in geography and a diploma in town planning, she has struggled with environmental problems in various capacities and countries, as a university researcher in Cambridge, a regional planner in Botswana, rural policy manager in Cambridgeshire and a planning consultant in Barbados. She is President of the Rivers and Lakes Swimming Association (RALSA) and also chairs the Cam Valley Forum, which seeks to conserve and improve the environment of the river Cam.
No better analysis of the issues and trends exist. As wild swimming gains in popularity this book will increasingly become an important reference and resource for policy makers and campaigners, and as a fascinating read for anyone interested in the great outdoors or swimming.
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