Swimming at Parliament Hill Lido
Time Out recently said that Londoners have replaced going out with exercising, and I think it’s true. This evening as my colleagues headed to yoga classes or the gym I hopped on the bus to Parliament Hill Lido – one of the few lidos in London that I was yet to try.
This summer I am making it my aim to swim in as many of London’s outdoor swimming spots as possible. Preferably all of them. On a summer’s day that had perked up just in time for the end of the working day, I couldn’t think of anywhere better to be than in a lido.
Parliament Hill Lido might be my new favourite place to swim. It was bigger than I was expecting (60 metres in length) and as I swam I felt as though I could keep going forever. It felt wonderful to swim uninterrupted.
The water was perfectly blue and the sun reflected off the metal bottom of the pool. I swam while the sun set and the concrete decking around the water was golden. There were only a few other swimmers: some doing laps with me and a few children playing on foam mats and jumping in from the deep end.
Despite a day punctuated by cloud and rain the water felt warm. It felt perfect. After my lengths I sat on the poolside for a while taking in the last of the sun, moving further up the bench every few minutes as my sunny spot turned to shade.
Above the top of the lido walls I could see the green and the trees of Hampstead Heath, where I headed after my swim to sit in the grass and look back on London. Seeing it from a distance makes it somehow more beautiful. The sky was full of cranes and I wondered when London will be finished. When will it be satisfied enough to say, “That’s it. I’m done now”? I think never.
For more information on Parliament Hill Lido: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/hampstead-heath/swimming/Pages/Swimming-opening-times-and-charges.aspx
Libby Page 