Swimming along the Thames in central London is forbidden. Soon, however, you might be able to hone your backstroke beneath the Embankment walls courtesy of the Thames Baths project.
The plans from Studio Octopi have been floating about for a couple of years, but today take a step forward with the launch of a crowdfunding initiative on Kickstarter.
The baths would be sited between Blackfriars Bridge and the proposed Garden Bridge. Its three pools would use filtered Thames water, already relatively clean for a metropolitan river, but set to get cleaner still once the Thames Tideway sewer is built in the next few years.
The baths' designers want Londoners to see their river in a new way, at eye-level with the water, but in a safe environment. Learn more about the project via the Thames Baths web site, and contribute a few pounds towards the scheme through its new Kickstarter page.