WILD SWIMMING @ Hampstead Heath Mixed Pond [£4.80 MORNING SESSIONS]
Details
🌊 LCC COLD SWIMMING:
⏱️ MORNING SESSION: 10:30 AM
📅 SATURDAY 8th NOVEMBER 2025
📍 HAMPSTEAD MIXED POND (FIND IT HERE)
💷 COST: £4.80 (NO PRE-BOOKING REQUIRED)
Supplies to bring:
- Swimming costume
- Towel(s)
- Something warm to throw on after getting out (I'll be bringing electric hand warmers for everyone's use)
- Flip-flops or slip-ons recommended
- A hot drink or snack!
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Join LCC's wild swimming club at Hampstead Heath: we usually meet mornings at 10:30 AM directly at the Mixed Pond and all are welcome! Summer is over, so no pre-booking necessary at any time; just turn up on the day. Brace yourself, face the cold and feel invincible!
Why wild swim? Swimming is one of the best low-impact full-body workouts you can do, and it requires almost nothing in terms of gear or equipment - just a piece of swimwear. Forget the Lidos (manmade pools) with their jostling crowds and pre-booking: access to the Mixed Pond is just £4.80, payable on-site. Summer's gone for now, so no pre-booking required. Hampstead's ponds feature all the essentials found at a Lido including lifeguards, changing areas, showers, toilets, and stepped access into the water via ladders.
Ok, sure: but wild, cold swimming? Unlike a Lido, these ponds ain't heated or treated. Jump in and brace for a shock! But cold swimming and cold plunges however aren't all pain, no gain: cold therapy has been shown to help fight inflammation, improve metabolism, regulate stress hormones like cortisol, improve rest and recovery, promote the immune system, and of course provide an endorphin rush that you have to experience to explain. That said, Hampstead's ponds are nowhere near icy cold - they present the opportunity for some relatively easy-going cold therapy that won't send shivers too far down your spine.
Sounds great - but is it socialist? You bet it is! Call it swimming as an act of defiance. Britain's wettest capitalists (Thames Water, Severn Trent, etc) may have set their hearts on turning our waterways into one great solid mass of waste. But the bond between the people and the water refuses to break, with wild swimming clubs booming since the pandemic. Per the BBC:
"Swimming has always been a popular sport in the UK, with accounts of 16th-century knights struggling to paddle in full armour and Victorians embracing dips in the sea. But [since] the pandemic, the hobby of outdoor swimming has been rediscovered. Public swimming pools closed, and people could not travel, so they looked closer to home for opportunities to swim, creating a spike in interest and soaring club memberships."
Across the country access to this ancient, popular, indeed working-class pastime is under threat. Fortunately for us, here in London we have options. Wild swimming at Hampstead Heath's Mixed Bathing Ponds is a great way to get your wild aquatic fix, set back in the Heath's lush forest.
NOTE: the waters at the Mixed Pond are deep and dark, so swimming ability is a must!
Also note LCC's Code of Conduct is in effect at all our events and at all times, especially swimsuit times. If you harass or make any of our attendees feel comfortable, you will, as you can no doubt imagine, be ejected from the group straightaway.
Find out everything else you need to know here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/hampstead-heath-swimming-33053495103
Take care and see you on the water!