Regularly take a dip when on tour, usually in the buff. Coniston Water was the coldest dip I've taken - it was bloody awful.
I was fortunate enough to enjoy free swimming (disabled) but this gubbishment have removed this benefit. A friend suggested that we take a dip in the river Avon instead!
Just for clarification, the free swimming for people over 60 (and under 18 if they wished) was a national programme, with additional central government funding of £60 million from April 2009 to March 2011, that was open to all councils to sign up to. Councils could also opt to extend the free swimming to other groups, such as those with diabilities.
However, not all council's chose to sign up to the scheme - about 20% of eligible councils didn't sign up and not all extended the scheme to under 18s or the disabled - in which case eligible people were able to swim in pools provided by other councils who had signed up. Many councils didn't sign up until the programme had been running for some length of time.
Council who had already been (in 2008/09) providing free swimming for both age groups were allocated £10 million worth of 'one off' grants to improve their facilities. The other £50 million was for capital grants in 2009/10 and 2010/11 for ' new sign up' councils to modernise existing facilities or help build new ones. There was also some additional funding to provide 100,000 free swimming lessons.
The current financial crisis has meant that the 2010/11 central capital projects funding is no longer available to new sign ups.
Councils are perfectly able to continue to offer concessionary prices or free swims to particular groups - and many are continuing to do so. Some have applied for NHS funding to defray any additional costs.
Council are quick to blame the government for 'withdrawing funding' - but it should be borne in mind that this was never meant to be ongoing or permanent funding, but short term capital funding to improve facilities.