The Urban Swimmer at the Hampstead Heath Mixed Pond.
This post was written on June 2nd 2012, but was late to post because TUS is a lazy arse.
Saturday morning saw a misty and moist start to the British Jubilee bank holiday weekend. Unusually for The Urban Swimmer, he found himself up bright and early and capable of physical exercise. Surprised by his state of being he headed for the Hampstead Heath Parkrun.
Every Saturday, no matter the weather, doddering joggers to serious club runners gather in parks all over Britain to run/jog 5 kilometers together. The events are amateur in the true spirit, no money changes hands. The concept appears to be spreading like wildfire with new events opening every week and events moving beyond UK borders (the first US one started a few weeks ago). You turn up, you run, and if you are organised you have a little personal barcode which logs your time on their website. The whole affair is run by volunteers and has a splendid air of enthusiasm and good will about it. It is perhaps that sense of good natured, plucky British amateurism that is more suited to a Jubilee celebration than some of the earnest forelock tugging that has been going on in the media this weekend. If you must be up at this ungodly an hour on a Saturday, there are worse ways to start the day. The website is
http://www.parkrun.com/
However, I digress. This is blog about swimming not running so TUS will not overstay his time with Parkrun. The point of the story is that, it being the summer, and this being Hampstead Heath, a number of TUS's fellow runners are in the habit of decamping post-run to the nearby Hampstead Mixed Pond to cool their weary bodies. This week in a moment of impromptu rashness, TUS decided to join the party. At that hour and it being a rather damp Saturday, the Pond was remarkably peaceful. Two wetsuited triathletes swimming lengths, a couple of hardy daily regulars and a hand full of ducks were the only people sharing the green tinged waters. The temperature was warmer than TUS had expected, and he enjoyed floating looking up at the branches overhanging trees feeling somewhat like the Lady of Shalott, well one that occasionally waves at passing dog walkers. Swimming like this one feels at one with living, breathing nature. The Hampstead Ponds were painted by Constable, and it doesn't look like they have changed all that much since. In a similar vein TUS discovered Winter Nymphs,
this rather amusing film of young ladies swimming in the Hampstead Ponds from a Pathe news reel of 1931. For those of you that can't do the maths on a Fahrenheit conversion, that's about 5 degrees Celsius. Apparently those rather risque chaps at Pathe News had a habit of producing reels showing lovely young women doing calisthenics, or swimming, or well...whatever else might involve them being scantily clad by the standards of the day.
The Mixed Pond can be found discreetly behind a large hedge. The (voluntary) fee is two pounds. There are two fenced men's and women's changing areas which don't amount to more than a couple of benches. Other than a small hut for the lifeguards/wardens, that's about it. Best of all though are the floating rubber lifeguard rings which are permanently moored at various points in the water. So if you tired splashing round, you can hang on to ring and have a bit of a pleasant float. Jolly good fun, take advantage before the summer is over!
