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Summer is drawing to a close, and as the evenings shorten, so will our swim times.

From today, August 29th, the pond will close at 7.00pm with the last entry at 6.45pm.

The summer booking system will end next week, with the last day of booking being Monday 4th September.

From Tuesday 5th September you can again walk up and swim at any time during opening hours, 7am – 6.45pm, using your season ticket wristband, or paying in your usual way by cash or card.

Enjoy your swims during this season of mellow mistfulness and crispy leaves on the water…

Hampstead Men’s Pond Association have generously agreed to welcome women to swim at the Men’s Pond between 8am – 11am during all four days of closure at the Ladies’ Pond next week (26 – 29th June).

Please do not turn up before 8am – the men would like to have privacy for the first hour of the day. 

Over 60s are welcome to swim free between 8am – 9.30 am as usual and wristband holders welcome to swim till 10.45am.  Women need to vacate the Men’s pond by 11am.

There will need to be compromise and consideration from all swimmers during the four mornings.  Gazebos will be put up in the changing area to give women some privacy, but we would ask that everyone please be respectful and patient as the Men’s Pond may be crowded and there are likely to be queues. 

The City of London (CoL) have made alternative arrangements for Ladies’ Pond swimmers during the closure next week. 

The Ladies’ Pond will be closed for four days (Mon 26, Tues 27, Wed 28, Thurs 29 June). The pond will reopen to the public on Fri 30 June.

Season tickets can use the Lido or the Mixed Pond during this period. There will be a ladies only session at the Lido from 1.30pm to 2.30pm each day the Ladies’ Pond is closed and on Tuesday 27 June there will be a ladies only session from 6-7pm at the Lido – these sessions will be operated as free flow where no booking is required but queueing may be necessary if the Lido reaches capacity. Ponds only season tickets will be accepted at these sessions.

26 – 29 JUNE 2023

Work is about to start on laying electrical cable at the pond.  Since this will involve digging up and relaying the main path causing considerable disruption, the pond will be closed for 4 days.  It is expected this will be Monday 26 – Thursday 29th June.

There will also be resurfacing of the steps to the lower meadow and finishing up with the works on the accessible shower and toilet. CoL is hoping this will be completed by the 29th, but if not, it is expected that the pond will re-open then and work continue as at present in the background.

The main toilets should re-open tomorrow, 20 June and the portaloos and fencing will be removed – the City are hoping this can be done with minimal disruption.  The accessible portaloo will remain on site until work on the accessible changing space is completed.

Temporary toilets for upper meadow users will be placed soon, either in the cycle park or tucked at the back of the upper meadow.  In the meantime please be patient if the stewards ask you to use Millfield Lane public toilets.

We are awaiting confirmation of alternative swimming arrangements for women during the period of the Pond closure and will send out updates to KLPA members as we get them – please keep an eye on your inbox, or check your spam file if you don’t see anything.

We appreciate your patience and tolerance as the works are completed.

Sunday 25th June, 9am – 11am

Join us for a free breakfast, a chance to socialise with other swimmers and bond over the pond. We will provide free coffee, tea and croissants – while supplies last.  Please bring you own mug if possible, and food to share if you like.

There will also be a chance to buy KLPA merchandise – our famous mugs and hats.

Cash and cards accepted.

We look forward to seeing you there.

This is to let you know that we are holding our monthly merchandise sale at the Ladies’ Pond on:

Sunday 21 May 2023
9am – 11 am

Hats, mugs and books will be on sale as usual.  Sets of four mugs or knitted hats (including mix and match options) can be bought for £35.  They are usually £10 each.  The Wild Swimming Walks book is still available at a reduced price of £10 each.

We can take card payments, cash or cheques.  Please come along and support the work of the KLPA.

We hope to see you there.

We have now received a further update from the City of London Corporation about a date for the Accessibility Works to start at the Ladies’ Pond.  Work will start on Monday 17 April 2023 and it will be necessary to close the Ladies’ Pond that morning so that fencing and the temporary toilet block can be installed.  The Ladies’ Pond is expected to re-open at 2 pm on Monday.

The works are expected to last about 6 weeks.  During this time bathing will commence at 6.45 am each morning to allow for a quiet swim, before contractors start work on site at 7.30 am. In addition pond wristbands can be used at Parliament Hill Lido by swimmers who prefer a quieter swim, away from the construction work, at other times of the day.  Lido opening hours and details here.

Further updates can be found on the City’s Twitter Feed here.

If you have any concerns or feedback whilst the work is taking place, please send these to the City via hh-swimming@cityoflondon.gov.uk (and copy to klpamailbox@gmail.com so that we can monitor any responses from the City).

Please do take into account that the Ladies’ Pond will be operating as a building site during these works, (even if in a specific area) and all members of the public will be expected to comply with any site safety instructions.  The fenced off areas will be out of bounds to anyone not authorised to be on the building site.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Work is about to commence at all of the Heath swimming ponds in order to improve access to facilities and male contractors will be on site at the Ladies’ Pond from 11th April.  This work is expected to take around six weeks to complete, and will finish around 22 May.

On 11th April, contractors will be delivering materials and setting up screened fencing and temporary toilets – it may be necessary to suspend swimming for part or all of that day to avoid any difficulties this disruption will cause – we will let you know nearer the date of opening times on 11th April.

After that and for the duration of the works, swimming will still be open, with the work area and a works access path screened off from the meadows and pond. Access to the pond will be around he side nearest to the outside shower, and the indoor changing areas will still be available.

Work will start at 7.30 am, though the Heath Management are hoping to push this back to 7.45 when the work has settled in a bit. To facilitate women swimming without men on site, the pond will open at 6.45am allowing 45 minutes of quiet and uninterrupted time before work commences.

The existing toilets are part of the refurbishment, so temporary toilets will be situated in the upper meadow, facing the gazebo. They will be completely different to the temporary toilets last summer and will be cleaner and maintained regularly.

CoL is being as helpful as they can be in the circumstances and state that contractors will be fully briefed on respecting swimmers’ privacy and keeping any movement between work and the entrance gate to the minimum necessary to facilitate the work.

“The main aim is to get this work finished as quickly as possible while staying open for swimming. We want to avoid any closures so there will need to be a bit of cooperation from swimmers too.”

If you have any queries about this work, please contact the Heath Management on HH-Swimming@cityoflondon.gov.uk

The KLPA will be celebrating the Equinox and holding its regular merchandisestall at the Ladies’ Pond on, Sunday 19 March 2023 between 9 and 11 am.

We’ll welcome the start of spring (one day early) and the promise of warmer swims to come. Our last Spring Equinox event took place in March 2019, so it is good to be resuming this KLPA ritual.

Coffee, tea and croissants will be provided (while they last). Please bring some food to share and your own cup if possible. We will have some cups available and you could also purchase a mug if you wish.

KLPA Committee volunteers will be selling mugs and fluorescent knitted hats for £10 each or for sets of 4 for just £35 (including mix and match options).  The ever popular Wild Swimming Walks book is available at our special reduced price of £10 and swim caps are available for £5.

Come along to meet other swimmers and welcome in the start of spring at the pond!

Last year we consulted KLPA members through two surveys (here and here) about proposed adaptations to the changing rooms to improve accessibility.  This feedback was shared with the City of London Corporation.  Their planning application, registered on 11 July 2022, also included works to the back fence and construction of a “stewards’ hut” along the entrance path, as well as work at the other bathing ponds. Planning consent was granted by Camden Council on 26 September 2022 without a full planning committee meeting taking place.

The City’s tendering process has taken longer than expected, due to an initial lack of interest from potential contractors and increasing construction costs.  The City is now almost at the stage of appointing a contractor and the following tentative timings have been discussed with the KLPA (please note these dates may still change).

At the Ladies’ Pond work is expected to start around 20 March 2023 and continue for 6 weeks, until the end of April 2023.  The City is planning to keep the Ladies’ Pond open during these works, although there will be some disruption:

1. The main WC block will not be available and temporary toilets are to be installed, probably inside the entrance to the large meadow.
2. The outside shower and internal changing rooms should remain available.
3. Contractors are expected to be on-site from 8am each day, and will be accessing their work area in the current accessible WC via a walkway which will be screened at the sides.
4. We have been assured by the City that the large and small meadows will remain available for changing and that privacy will be maintained for swimmers.
5. We are trying to ensure that there will be one hour in the morning (7am-8 am) when no contractors will be on-site so that the women-only environment will be maintained during that time slot.

The information above is at present tentative, and may be subject to change, as the City has not yet confirmed the appointment of a contractor.  Once contracts are signed there will be a design and mobilisation period of up to 6 weeks before work can commence anywhere on the Heath.

When we have further information about the time frame and arrangements during the works, members will be notified.  If you have any questions about the details of the construction project itself, please contact HH-Swimming@cityoflondon.gov.uk.