swan-hopping

Life, however, is especially agreeable in swan-hopping season, when white-bait abounds at

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, November 13, 1841 Various

Its whitened towers and battlemented roof are known to all the swan-hopping and steam navigators of our day, and none who have floated

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 389, September 12, 1829 Various

-- Summer came, and then we had swan-hopping _up_ the river, and white-baiting _down_ the river; Yantlet

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 380, July 11, 1829 Various

Swans were formerly considered royal birds; and those upon the river Thames are still the property of the crown, and the young ones are marked every year under the superintendence of the Lord Mayor, the ceremony being called swan-hopping, which is said to be derived from swan-upping, a part of the ceremony being to decide how far up the river the swans have a right to go.

The Lady's Country Companion: or, How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally Jane 1845

Stairs, as I was going myself, and just then passed by two city companies in their great barges, who had been a swan-hopping:.

The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford — Volume 1 Horace Walpole 1757