London Fields Lido

I went for a swim at the marvellous London Fields Lido on a cold, grey day in London. It was absolutely pouring with rain, and areas of the park were flooded.

That didn't stop people coming for a swim. There were plenty of people at the lido. Several people cycled through the rain to swim here.

The water is heated to 26 degrees Celsius, so it's pleasant while you're swimming, but a coolish walk to the hot, outdoor showers.

I swam 10 lengths of front crawl and backstroke, then floated along for another couple, just looking at the winter skies above the pool. There was so much steam coming off the water, that, at times, it was like swimming in fog.

Winter Swimming in the UK

I went swimming at Wylie's Baths today. The seawater temperature was 16.5 degrees celsius, and the air temperature was around 12 degrees. Hearty stuff, I thought, until I remembered going for a winter walk around Hyde Park's Serpentine when I was in London in January. The weather was bitterly cold - sections of the lake were frozen. As we walked past the Serpentine Lido, I thought about how cold winter swimming in the UK would be.

Yes, apparently, they really do break the ice to go for a swim.

And it's a very cold shower afterwards.

Have a look at some of the photos of the Sepentine Swimming Club. They have an annual Christmas Day Race when the water temperature is below 4 degrees celsius.

Website: http://www.serpentineswimmingclub.com/

London Fields Lido In January

While I was on holiday in England, I went to London Fields Lido a couple of times. It's open air but is heated all year round. The week I spent in London in mid-January was bitterly cold, but I was determined to have a swim here. I'd forgotten to bring a swimcap with me, and they had run out of them at the kiosk, so I was a bit worried about getting cold ears. The water was really warm though and I never once felt cold in the water. The dash from the pool to the changing sheds was a different story.

I did several lengths of breaststroke, but also spent ages swimming on my back looking up at the grey, drizzly winter skies and the bare trees. I absolutely loved this pool.

There are still several lidos (open air pools) in the London area. Only two (I think: here and Hampton) are heated during the winter. I'm keen to return in summer one year, and, as a friend suggested, swim my way across London via the lidos and swimming ponds. I'd really like to swim in the ponds on Hampstead Heath again. It's been 25 years since I last had a swim there.

There is an excellent website all about lidos in London and other lidos, pools and sea baths in the UK. It's hosted by Oliver Merrington, and there is a link at the top right of this page.