![In the swim](https://cdn.magzter.com/1387284093/1692692943/articles/0nPjwzoM21692781921617/IN-THE-SWIM.jpg)
THE 1930s ushered in the Golden Age of swimming in style. Swallow divers had captivated the Paris Olympics in 1924 and Olympians Johnny Weissmuller and Eleanor Holm thrilled in Billy Rose’s Aquacade at the New York World Fair in 1939. Here, London County Council leader Herbert Morrison declared the capital would be a ‘City of Lidos’. The first elasticated swimming costume was launched in 1934. It was a time, as Catherine Horwood wrote in her article Girls Who Arouse Dangerous Passions: Women and Bathing 1900–1939, when opposition to the display of female flesh was overcome by an understanding of the value of sunlight: tanning began in German health spas and, later, on the French Riviera.
I have swum in wild seas and freezing oceans—from the Arctic Circle to, most recently, the 50 miles from Newlyn to the island of Tresco, as well as in countless rivers, including the Thames from Oxford to London. But, in reaction to the current mania for wild swimming, with its muddy chatter of Thermos flasks, Birkenstocks and wellbeing, it seems time to rediscover an age when swimming was a more elegant affair.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 23, 2023-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 23, 2023-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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![Full steam ahead](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1737134/_1mDoVc331718787652188/FULL-STEAM-AHEAD.jpg)
Full steam ahead
The railway may have started its artistic life as a fire-breathing monster that devoured the countryside, but it soon became an emblem of advancing modernity, a cherished memento of the past and even, in the case of one station, the centre of the universe
![Stars in the East](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1737134/L4ce-EqXu1718786942099/STARS-IN-THE-EAST.jpg)
Stars in the East
Continuing from last week, further East Anglian properties include a moat beloved by wildlife, a Georgian hunting lodge on the site of a Civil War battlefield and a well-restored manor with a Tudor-hall wedding venue
!['The oldest Old Thing in England'](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1737134/7ptf95Wvq1718788623883/THE-OLDEST-OLD-THING-IN-ENGLAND.jpg)
'The oldest Old Thing in England'
Shakespeare was by no means the first to portray the mischievous Puck, a sprite of ancient lineage, with his ass's head, discovers Ian Morton
![Coward on a mission](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1737134/1gHkiFcfT1718788356039/COWARD-ON-A-MISSION.jpg)
Coward on a mission
A revival of Noël Coward's final work reminds one of the emotional depth behind the laughs
![Having the last laugh](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1737134/jVNG7HoEU1718788077620/HAVING-THE-LAST-LAUGH.jpg)
Having the last laugh
Rotting teeth, modelling woes and an appreciation for solemnity have historically conspired to make painted grins a rarity, but beaming faces never fail to beguile, finds Claudia Pritchard
![Mother of herbs](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1737134/6vIwLBYlx1718787487440/MOTHER-OF-HERBS.jpg)
Mother of herbs
Enjoying a strange association with childbirth, mugwort is of more use in the kitchen and may even induce 'lucid dreams', finds John Wright
![Bourne to run](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1737134/qDepfNjWf1718787214574/BOURNE-TO-RUN.jpg)
Bourne to run
The garden at Emmetts Mill, Chobham, Surrey A flat waterside site has been transformed into a garden full of drama with plenty of delightful places to stop and enjoy the view, writes Kathryn Bradley-Hole
![Design brought to life](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1737134/9528MQvjF1718786765396/DESIGN-BROUGHT-TO-LIFE.jpg)
Design brought to life
The 2024 WOW!house is a delightful parallel universe of creativity, finds Giles Kime
![Bend it like Beckham](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1737134/GMtGFFxC71718786461992/BEND-IT-LIKE-BECKHAM.jpg)
Bend it like Beckham
Chippendale, Scotland's only independent furniture school, bears a huge name to live up to, but with courses in wood-bending, marquetry, upholstery, restoration and more, it is flourishing under a new generation, finds Mary Miers
!['Makes Buckingham Palace seem rather dull'](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1737134/OnMvYKa4B1718786130432/MAKES-BUCKINGHAM-PALACE-SEEM-RATHER-DULL.jpg)
'Makes Buckingham Palace seem rather dull'
The London homes of the British aristocracy were often grander than their country counterparts, palatial without ever being called palaces, says Lucien de Guise