For the seventh consecutive year, Andy will be raising money for the Museum through his annual challenge. Usually this involves walking his age in miles. This year, however, he has taken to the pool for a 100 mile swim. Not all in one go, of course! He plans to average 2 miles a week throughout the year.
Like his grandfather, uncle and mother, Andy has been a keen swimmer all his life. He spent many happy hours at Hitchin pool in his youth, but now has to fit his swims in around his busy schedule at the Museum. This usually involves a 7am plunge.
Andy says “I’m not a particularly fast swimmer, but I get into a steady rhythm and just keep going. I’m just grateful I don’t have to experience the conditions of the Old Queen Street Baths (pictured above). It was built in 1860 as part of the improvements to ‘Dead Street’ (as Queen Street was known until 1862). The pool was fed directly from the river. It was cleaned out once a week, on a Sunday. Former pupils from the Queen Street School remember that, if their swimming lesson was on a Friday, they had to scrape off the surface before they could jump in!”