Great Lengths: The Swimming Pools of Britain

[Gorecki]

Publisher: English Heritage (10 Feb 2009)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1905624522
ISBN-13: 978-1905624522

Link to the book on Amazon.co.uk

This book is FINALLY out, my copy arrived in the post this morning and it features 2 pages of my Bon Accord Baths photos!!
How excited am I !!

There are photographs of many abandoned pools in the UK, from Victorian to Art Deco to Modern designs and it's a MUST buy for people like me who love empty swimming pools =]

 

[Raddog]

Gorecki, maybe you can help from reading this book. The pic on the front makes me think this even more. Are all of these Victorian pools built to the same design? The one near me looks EXACTLY the same as that pic and also the Harpurhey one that was posted up. I know.... Google is my friend too....

 

[Styru]

Great title for a book

But:

From Amazon:

"Dr Ian Gordon, himself a former competitive swimmer, is the medical doctor for the Amateur Swimming Association and has been researching the history of swimming pools for over 25 years."

Amazon don't exactly 'sell' it well.

You need to get a decent review up on Amazon

.

 

[BOW]

Is this one in it?

This was built by the miners in the early 50s at the pit i used to work at. It was a resevoir for the cooling water for the huge compressors. 2, 1m 2, 3m springboards a 5, 7.5, and 10m diving platforms. sadly it closed prior to the pit closing in the 90s

 

[Gorecki]

Raddog Yes!! A lot of them are built to the same design.
And Bow, Nope. It's all indoor pools =]

 

[John T Wilson]

Thanks for putting info up about this book. Im ordering mine today. Down here in Edinburgh, our Commonwealth Pool was about to closed but the council decided to refurbish the place .It would have beeb a great explore as its massive and I never really liked it....it was always cold and a bit dirty.
One of my fave's and bound to be in the book is the Derby Baths in Blackpool. What a beautiful building and sadly demolished to make way for a Hilton Hotel
I could go on and on about pools, so ill stop!
I am a great admirer off your work by the way.

Publisher: English Heritage (10 Feb 2009)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1905624522
ISBN-13: 978-1905624522

Link to the book on Amazon.co.uk

This book is FINALLY out, my copy arrived in the post this morning and it features 2 pages of my Bon Accord Baths photos!!
How excited am I !!

There are photographs of many abandoned pools in the UK, from Victorian to Art Deco to Modern designs and it's a MUST buy for people like me who love empty swimming pools =]

 

[BOW]

Thanks for putting info up about this book. Im ordering mine today. Down here in Edinburgh, our Commonwealth Pool was about to closed but the council decided to refurbish the place .It would have beeb a great explore as its massive and I never really liked it....it was always cold and a bit dirty.
One of my fave's and bound to be in the book is the Derby Baths in Blackpool. What a beautiful building and sadly demolished to make way for a Hilton Hotel
I could go on and on about pools, so ill stop!
I am a great admirer off your work by the way.

I went to the commonwealth just a couple of years ago, and headed straight for the top diving board. I was stopped in my tracks by an attendant who told me a qualified diving instructor had to be at poolside for h&s reasons before anybody could use the boards!

 

[John T Wilson]

I went to the commonwealth just a couple of years ago, and headed straight for the top diving board. I was stopped in my tracks by an attendant who told me a qualified diving instructor had to be at poolside for h&s reasons before anybody could use the boards!

That's crazy....It's PC gone mad mate. When we were young we used to go up for a look....and go to the edge....it makes me go weak thinking about it now as it was a fair old height....
Its so run down and dirty now and also very seedy, as it attracts, lets just say, men with a hint of lavender about them
Id have liked it demolished as long as we were getting an olympic standard pool in it's place not some fun pool about 0.8m deep!

 

[MeowMix]

Congrats on getting your photos published

 

[Artypie]

It would be nice to see a companion book of lidos and outdoor swimming pools. Most of the ones I have been to as a kid have gone now (some have been replaced by paddling pools). No doubt they were strangled out of existence by the health and safety brigade.

 

[Gorecki]

It would be nice to see a companion book of lidos and outdoor swimming pools. Most of the ones I have been to as a kid have gone now (some have been replaced by paddling pools). No doubt they were strangled out of existence by the health and safety brigade.

Try this link... Another "Played in Britain" series on Lidos & open air pools in Britain

 

[Artypie]

Try this link... Another "Played in Britain" series on Lidos & open air pools in Britain

Thanks, that looks really interesting.

 

[Ariadne]

It would be nice to see a companion book of lidos and outdoor swimming pools. Most of the ones I have been to as a kid have gone now (some have been replaced by paddling pools). No doubt they were strangled out of existence by the health and safety brigade.

I love lidos! Have a look at this website for lists of what still is and what once was:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/oliver.merrington/lidos/index.html

And I would suggest a visit to Budapest if you haven't been, for seriously beautiful retro spa/pool action of the non-derelict variety!