At the Pond: Swimming at the Hampstead Ladies' Pond

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Lifeguards are on hand to ensure everything goes smoothly, but try to look after yourself first! Are the Showers Warm?

Kenwood Ladies’ Pond is open all year round, but with shorter opening times over winter. Between the 28th of November and the 5th of February, the facilities are open from 7:30 am to 3 pm. Otherwise, the pond is open from 7 am to 8:30 pm the rest of the year. During high season, in the warmer months, the council advises users to book online before coming in. Whereas during winter, pre-booking is unnecessary, as the ponds are relatively quiet. Many of these women are of a certain age and I’m sure they have impeccable left-wing credentials – this is Hampstead, after all, though the area has changed out of all recognition. It’s filled with bankers now, braying estate agents with hangovers and hair gel, and 4x4s driven by trophy wives in leather trousers clogging up the streets on the school run. The old inhabitants – arty, messy, obstreperous – have mostly gone. But you can still find them at the Ladies’ Pond. I glimpse their wrinkled bodies when they strip naked in the changing room and realise, with a jolt, that I’m wrinkled, too. I’ve joined them. I might not have joined their club, being too cowardly to break the ice, in every respect. But I join them in celebrating the camaraderie of the Ladies’ Pond and hope that a new generation is arriving to take their place. The ponds are only child-friendly if your kid is a very strong swimmer. So, if you want to enjoy open-air swimming with the family without stressing, consider visiting the Hampstead Heath Lido Instead.Yes, there are cold showers at Highgate Men's Pond and Hampstead Mixed Pond whilst there are hot showers at Kenwood Ladies' Pond and at Parliament Hill Lido.

Throughout these stories (essays may be more apt?) there is a lot of mention of how silky and smooth the water is, and this way really interesting to me. The concept of ‘wild’ swimming is something I find kind of baffling though, the explanations of carp and god knows what else swimming in the pond clears that up. This pond seems to have taken a hold on these writers and the subject matter lends itself to reflection as water calls for similarity and movement. This collection perfectly encapsulates that.For the last 15 years, Jamal Saad, 45, swam nearly every day in the men’s pond – after work, early in the morning, on a whim when cycling by. He knew exactly which faces he would see, and felt relaxed in nature, at ease with himself and a world away from his problems. There's a ringing clarity, like the most purposeful swim. And also, there's the kind of poetry I love, found in prosaic things like bus routes and mobile phones and in the way old cucumber goes mushy inside its shrink wrap. There's lots of wit and perspicacity. There's cool honesty, insight and warmth, even in the coldest months... For every writer I already liked, I was rewarded with a great new-to-me find. Each of the stories is like a swim - none will be regretted, and none can be 'wrong'.' -- Jenny Landreth, Caught by the River At the Pond is a real delight. Almost every one of these essays is overwhelming positive, and each offers recollections of joy and warmth. The authors are united in the sense of community fostered at the Hampstead Ladies' Pond, and in the deep sense of peace and wellbeing which they have found within its waters. Kenwood Ladies' Pond is a natural bathing pond and one of London's best open air swimming spots. Facilities