Now seen as one of the most popular forms of exercise, the health-giving properties of swimming have not always been recognised. This gallery enters the murky depths of 16th-century rivers, breathes the bracing air of the Regency seaside and dives into a modernist swimming pool to chart the course from water as site of danger to a space of health.
Backstroke to the future
Words by Ross MacFarlane
- In pictures
About the author
Ross MacFarlane
(he/him)
Ross MacFarlane is a research development specialist at Wellcome Collection. He has researched, written and lectured on the collections and other topics at the intersection of death, folklore and medicine.