o tdoor pools in deep water
原文地址:  . ktravel2013j l07o tdoor-pools-in-deep-water scores of o tdoor pools across the co ntry are str ggling to stay open. jenny landreth visits three which have somehow managed to go against the tide if yo p t a red dot on a map of britain for every swimming pool that s fighting for s rvival, there d be a nasty rash, top to bottom. take tarlair lido in aberdeen, recently granted £300,000 for immediate repairs which makes its swimming f t re imaginable, or brighton s art deco saltdean lido, wrested抢夺 by campaigners from a developer who was not, shall we say, "swimming friendly". some are in locations that don t exactly smack of glamo r - i m thinking of the saved walthamstow forest college pool, now r n by a comm nity interest company, 社会利益or moseley road baths, in a st nning grade ii listed b ilding j st so th of birmingham 伯明翰市city centre, not a known to rist hotspot. yo might expect the campaigners - s ally fighting co ncils which treat pools like problems rather than assets - to be embittered 使受苦, 使怨恨, 使难受and disill sioned. 使醒悟, 使幻想破灭i wo ldn t blame them: the battles i was told abo t are most kindly described as bizarre. b t the thing that joins all the red dots is a passion for swimming, and that passion reveals itself in the form of 以...的形式 optimism. i nderstand the passion - it s one i share, partic larly for o tdoor swimming. the optimism i discovered when i to red three of these pools was an nexpected bon s. the first was lymington sea water baths in hampshire. even nheated pools don t come cheap, and their takings营业收入 are at the mercy of 受...支配the weather. b t to have sold the licence to r n the place to a private company for a paltry微小的 s m, as the co ncil has done, seems disdainf l at best. this " niq e space", as one swimmer called it, is in a corner of the marina散步道, 码头 right by the river est ary,河口, 江口 and as i ask him: "why do yo swim here？" an isle of wight ferry ch gs 发出轧轧声前进past, so he has to sho t: "beca se it s safe." it s rprised me to discover the pool is chlorinated, 用氯消毒tho gh the taste is distinctly salty. the trimmings are shabby 邋遢的and the pebbly多卵石的 bottomed pool is h ge, 140m by 40m - it easily accommodates two wonky-tiered 摆动的 fo ntains in that familiar pool-paint bl e. beyond the low s rro nding fence, a borrowed view 借景of distant trees and a pick- p-sticks j mble of 杂乱的一堆东西boat masts； 桅杆yo swim here to the constant clank叮当声 and jingle叮当声 of rigging.为装配帆及索具 the freedom of the open water is also a great leveller. "it s egalitarian,"平等主义的 i m told by a swimmer at my next stop, shoalstone seawater pool inbrixham, devon. shoalstone has j st opened, thanks to the work of an extraordinary gro p of friends - perfect timing for the school holidays. b t o tdoor swimming isn t j st for the holidays. shoalstone began life as a nat ral rock pool and, over the years, it s been blasted o t, levelled, painted, added to and bea tified, mostly by vol nteers. the pool feels "at one with the sea," said mark, a key and very optimistic friend. "it gives kids an nderstanding of it, b t with sec rity." that sense of safety again, it s important: sea swimming is well and good, b t it s not for all of s - we re not cowards, we re... ok, we re cowards, happy sensible明智的, 有判断力的 cowards. the pool is st nning, a wedge of seawater with s nbathing terraces露台 and little changing c bicles, a view across the whole of torbay and the sea right there, safely. "shoalstone inspires a crazy love in people," said another swimmer. swimming does that, i say - i think it s beca se it speaks to something in s, something abo t who we intrinsically 从本质上want to be - free, eq al, nenc mbered.不受妨碍的 "yeah," she agreed, "maybe", edging away. we may all be eq al in a swimming cap, b t i m the only one at b de not in a wets it. neoprene氯丁二烯橡胶(聚氯丁橡胶) shields these swimmers from the cold, b t it s not my cheapness that s keeping me nclad,裸体的 it s my bloody-mindedness. i acclimatised, 使适应新环境therefore i am. my final red-dot destination, b de sea pool, was basically d mped by the co ncil like they were in a bad relationship； now it s r n by another brilliant friends gro p, a vol ntary charity. like shoalstone, it s lifeg arded d ring the day and free to swim in. on the northern edge ofcornwall, it s more "of the sea" than either of the other two； as the tide begins to move in, it slinks鬼鬼祟祟地移动 across the low retaining wall like net c rtains 网眼窗帘布slide across a hotel window. under a cliff and right next to b de beach, this st nning pool was created 80-odd 八十多年 years ago as a safe swimming place in the hardcore atlantic. "if yo re over 40 and from a 20-mile radi s," said a friend, "yo d have learned to swim here." that s a common reason people give for campaigning for their local pool. "it s beca se learning to swim takes years," he replied. "yo have a good time, with yo r friends, over time - and that sticks with yo ." as i leave, i give thanks to the extraordinary efforts that have kept these pools, and many others, in p blic se. on my way o t of b de i pass splash, the local leis re centre, my idea of hot-fermented-wee hell, and i wonder if people will campaign to save splash in times ahead. i don t see it. b t, i remind myself, still salt-sticky and cold from the sea, it takes all sorts.