Great Harwood Baths in Lancashire

I've got more than a few memories of these swimming baths. It was in the pool here that I first learned to swim. I would have been 11 years old, in the summer of 1967. I taught myself a strange, uncouth variation on front crawl, so I could stay in the deep end with my (swimming) friends and not be banished to the shallows by the lifeguard. We would spend hour after hour in the water, then go upstairs to the cafe overlooking the pool to drink dandelion and burdock, or Tizer, and eat packets of Rishy crisps.

I would have liked to have a swim here for old times sake, and to see the pool again after forty years, but I didn't have the time and had to be content with a photo.

Ramsbottom Baths

I'm spending a couple of wintry weeks in England visiting family. It's been quite cold and wet, but we've only had one day of ice and snow so far. I'm hoping to do quite a bit of moorland walking while I'm here, but I've also set aside time for a swim or two.

My first swim of the English winter was at the heated London Fields Lido in the open air. My next swim was indoors at Ramsbottom Baths, near Bury in Greater Manchester. 

I've got a wee bit of history with this pool. I used to come here way back at the end of the 1970s, and used to swim length after length of very lazy breaststroke. Actually, it's a bit cheeky to describe it as breaststroke - I don't think I ever dipped my head below the water when breathing. Length after length wasn't much of a stretch either as they are only 25 metres.

Today I found it quite odd to swim such short lengths in a chlorine pool (as opposed to a small rock pool). I had done about 20 when they roped off half the pool for aqua aerobics. After that I swam 10 metre breadths to the sounds of "My Boy Lollipop" and "Is This The Way To Amarillo?"

London Fields Lido

I went for a swim at the marvellous London Fields Lido on a cold, grey day in London. It was absolutely pouring with rain, and areas of the park were flooded.

That didn't stop people coming for a swim. There were plenty of people at the lido. Several people cycled through the rain to swim here.

The water is heated to 26 degrees Celsius, so it's pleasant while you're swimming, but a coolish walk to the hot, outdoor showers.

I swam 10 lengths of front crawl and backstroke, then floated along for another couple, just looking at the winter skies above the pool. There was so much steam coming off the water, that, at times, it was like swimming in fog.

Petersham Pool In The Rain

For the first time in many years, I didn’t swim on Christmas Day or Boxing Bay. I had badly cut my foot on oyster shells a few days earlier and it was still very painful. Then on Christmas Day it started to rain heavily. Even though my foot was healing, it wasn't a good idea to swim at the beaches or in the harbour because of possible stormwater pollution leading to infection.

So, off to one of the local Marrickville pools. This is Petersham Pool in Petersham Park.

When I arrived, in the pouring rain, there was only one other swimmer. Although it was raining, it was still very warm, and it felt great to be back in the water (chlorinated or not).

Petersham Pool is also (officially) known as the Fanny Durack Aquatic Centre after a champion swimmer from the early years of the 20th century who lived in the area. It's reported that she was the most accomplished (woman) swimmer in the world from 1910 to 1918, holding all the women's swimming records from 100 yards to the mile. She was also the first Australian woman to win an Olympic swimming gold medal.

Marrickville's other pool at Enmore Park is also named after a champion swimmer from the local area. It's the Annette Kellerman Aquatic Centre. In 1902 Annette held all the women's swimming records in the world. She went to Europe to give swimming demonstrations: swimming 42 kilometres down the Thames in 5 hours; racing 17 male swimmers down the Seine (finishing 3rd); and becoming the first woman to attempt to swim the English Channel. Annette pioneered synchronised swimming, and promoted women's rights to wear unrestrictive swimwear (being arrested for indecency in Boston for wearing a one piece swimsuit). She later had a successful career in Hollywood.

The pool is closed for rebuilding at the moment. Originally an indoor 33 metre pool, it will now (controversially) be extended to 50 metres. I remember that, on summer days, two sides of the enclosed pool could be opened, allowing the breeze to pass through. I hope that this facility will be retained in the new pool building.

Sources:

http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/community/history/fannydurack.htm

http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/community/history/annettekellerman.htm

Great Harwood Baths

The very place I learned to swim. Though I'd been to Wigan Baths before I came here (and to Accrington Baths long before that), I was a non-swimmer down in the shallow end clutching a kick-board. Great Harwood Baths opened in April 1967, and in July 1967 I spent much of the school holidays teaching myself to swim. My (swimming) friends were all down at the deep end, dunking and dive-bombing each other when the pool attendant's back was turned. Eleven year old me was left feeling sorry for himself in 3 feet of water. I had to swim. I managed to stay afloat and made slow forward progress using my own version of the dog-paddle. Struggling, spluttering and wheezing my way up to the 6 feet end, I was promptly sent back by the attendant. I had to modify this stroke to make it look more like front crawl. This was accomplished by flinging arms out of the water and making large splashes. Apparently, this was an acceptable stroke because I was allowed in the deep end with my friends.

Back at Wigan Baths, however, the school swimming class instructor was having none of my unconventional approaches to swimming, and I was put back into the non-swimmer group to learn breaststroke.

Great Harwood Baths

Photo © Copyright Mike and Kirsty Grundy and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Wigan Baths

About a year ago now, Wigan Baths closed down in preparation for the demolishing of the old pool and the building of a new swimming and leisure centre. I read about it about six months ago when I was searching for photos to post on this blog. We spent many a Saturday afternoon at the baths when we were kids, both before and after we could swim. School swimming lessons were also at the pool.

I didn't actually learn to swim at Wigan Baths (I taught myself at Great Harwood Baths - a splashing, struggling doggy-paddle, at first), but I spent a lot of time swimming here as an eleven and twelve year old. So I was a bit sad to hear they'd drained the pool and demolished the baths.

We used to throw a penny into the sixteen foot six end of the baths, then try to dive down to the bottom to get it. I can't remember any of us actually making it to the bottom. I do remember feeling the pressure as I swam down.

We all used to go up on the diving tower and steel ourselves to jump (never dive) from the second stage. The top stage was always roped off.

Wigan will be getting a new baths in a couple of years. Strange to think that these baths would've been new and modern when I first went to them.

Photos posted by Brian at http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/newgallery/gallery4.php?opt=baths