Category: Uncategorized

The KLPA will hold its monthly merchandise stall at the Ladies’ Pond, on Sunday 30 October 2022 from 9 am to 11 am. 

We have fluorescent knitted hats in bright colours (pink, orange and yellow) for just £10 each.  Seasonal KLPA mugs, designed by pond swimmer Sue Hellard, are available for £10 each or can be bought in sets of 4 for £35.  The knitted hats and mugs can also be bought in mix and match sets of 4 for £35.

The Wild Swimming Walks book is available at the discounted price of £10.  Silicon hats are still available for just £5 (yellow, green and pink). 

As the mornings get darker, our bright coloured hats help with visibility for the lifeguards.  The hats, books and mugs are also popular as presents.

Help to support the work of the KLPA and join us at the merchandise stall on 30 October 2022.  We aim to keep our merchandise prices affordable so that they are accessible to as many swimmers as possible, and they all have a practical use.

You can pay with cash, cheque or by card payment. Thank you for your continued support.

30 OCTOBER 2022 – DEADLINE FOR NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTIONS
Please send in your newsletter items by Sunday 30 October 2022.  Do you have an interesting new swimming place which you have discovered?  Have you been involved in any campaigns for access to clean swimming places?  Would you like to share your swimming themed poems or artworks?  Please send your items, ready for publication, to klpamailbox@gmail.com.

30 OCTOBER 2022 – WINTER TIME CHANGES
Please note that the closing time at the Ladies’ Pond changes with effect from 30 October 2022 (last swim 2 pm, vacate water 2.15 pm, closed at 2.30 pm).  Full details are available here.

The KLPA has been contacted by Barbara Leger, an undergraduate student at University College London, who is undertaking research for her dissertation at the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond. Her research is focused on sensory and embodied aspects of swimming at the Ladies’ Pond, to inform understanding of outdoor swimming and its motivations.

She hopes to interview regular swimmers at the Ladies’ Pond using a swim-along interview method. Indeed, Barbara will be undertaking the first part of the interview in the water at the Pond, followed by a traditional interview out of the water. 

Interviews are scheduled to take place between 22 October and 4 November 2022, and will take about one hour.

Find out more about the project and how you can take part here.   If you are interested in taking part you can contact Barbara directly via:

Email barbara.leger.18@ucl.ac.uk
Phone (or WhatsApp) +33 6 43 61 96 35.

We are pleased to announce that our friends from the Highgate Men’s Pond Association have been invited to a swim and shared breakfast at the Ladies’ Pond on Saturday 8 October 2022 from 9 to 11 am.  This is an opportunity to reinforce our alliances across the Heath, as well as to enjoy ourselves and socialise.  We last visited the Men’s Pond for a breakfast event in April 2022 and it is a pleasure to return the invitation.

The KLPA will provide hot drinks and croissants, additional contributions are welcome.

If you are eligible for a free swim before 9.30 am (under 16/over 60), please ensure you pass the checkpoint at the entrance before this time.  Access to the upper meadow alone, without swimming, remains free of charge but this does not allow access to the toilets.

The KLPA will hold its monthly merchandise stall at the Ladies’ Pond, on Sunday 25 September 2022 from 9 am to 11 am. 

We are expecting a new supply of fluorescent knitted hats in bright colours(pink, orange and yellow) for just £10 each.  Seasonal KLPA mugs, designed by pond swimmer Sue Hellard, are available for £10 each or can be bought in sets of 4 for £35.  The knitted hats and mugs can also be bought in mix and match sets of 4 for £35.

The Wild Swimming Walks book is available at the discounted price of £10.  Silicon hats are still available for just £5 (yellow, green and pink). 

The bright coloured hats help with visibility for the lifeguards if you are swimming in poor light.  The hats, books and mugs all make great presents for friends and family too.

Help to support the work of the KLPA and join us at the merchandise stall on 25 September 2022.  We aim to keep our merchandise prices affordable so that they are accessible to as many swimmers as possible, and they all have a practical use.

You can pay with cash, cheque or card

. 

The Hampstead Heath Duathlon will take place on Sunday 4 September 2022, where participants swim at the Lido and bathing ponds, running between each location to complete a circuit of the Heath.  This event is managed by the City of London Corporation.

It means that the Ladies’ Pond will be closed for part of the morning, to allow lifeguards to set up the course, supervise the event and then clear up afterwards.  This usually means that the closure period will be approx. 8.30 and to 11.30 am.

By this date it should not be necessary to pre-book your swimming session, so the disruption to your morning swim can be offset with a later swim, without needing to pre-book.

Spectators may access the upper meadow during the Duathlon, so long as they are careful not to obstruct the runners as they arrive and leave via the main path and gate.

We hope that your morning swim is not too disrupted by this event, but please do co-operate with directions from the lifeguards whilst the Duathlon is taking place.

The KLPA will hold its monthly merchandise stall at the Ladies’ Pond, on Sunday 28 August 2022 from 9 am to 11 am.  We now have a new supply of silicon swimming hats in bright colours (pink, green and yellow) for just £5 each!  Books and mugs are also for sale and are only £10 each.  The seasonal set of KLPA mugs can be bought in sets of 4 for £35.  You can pay with cash, cheque or by card payment.

The bright coloured hats help with visibility for the lifeguards if you are swimming in poor light.  Although it may be difficult to imagine now, the morning light will soon be reduced as autumn arrives.  The hats, books and mugs all make great presents for friends and family too.

Help to support the work of the KLPA and join us at the merchandise stall on 28 August 2022.  We aim to keep our merchandise prices affordable so that they are accessible to as many swimmers as possible, and they all have a practical use.

EAST LONDON WATERWORKS PARK FUNDRAISING EXTENSION
In recent emails we have let members know about a crowdfunding appeal in aid of the East London Waterworks Park (ELWP) project. This aims to establish two bathing ponds in East London with free access to swimming. The crowdfunded has now been extended to 28 October 2022 having already reached over £231,000 (over £265,000 with Gift Aid.) They need to raise £500,000 by this date.

Recent press coverage in the Guardian can be seen here.

This project aims to convert a derelict industrial site next to the River Lea into a nature reserve which will welcome everyone from the local community. Keeping access to open water swimming free of charge is part of this aim for inclusivity, something that was once true of the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds. If you are able to make a donation please show your solidarity and support by clicking here.

You can read ELWP’s report of their inclusivity Listening Project here.

Signs such as the one pictured above are a common sight in countries like Australia where wildfire is a well understood danger.  In the last few weeks, unusually dry weather has led to wildfire outbreaks around London and similar signs might become a familiar feature in the UK too.  Disposable barbeques have been a particular issue recently.

The KLPA has been asked to remind members of the current fire risk on the Heath e.g. through discarded cigarettes or use of disposable barbeques.  Whilst smoking is not currently banned under Heath byelaws at the bathing ponds, it is strongly discouraged. Barbeques are not permitted at all.  There have been two recent incidents involving fire damage to the meadows at the Ladies’ Pond, believed to have been caused by a barbeque or open fire.  Fortunately these fires did not spread but could easily have done so, and they caused localised damage anyway. 

If you do see any careless disposal of cigarettes or use of barbeques at the Ladies’ Pond, please draw this to the attention of the staff on duty. Ideally, smoking should not be happening at all in such flammable conditions.

———————————————————————————————————–

On a more positive note, there is still time to contribute towards the crowdfunding appeal by the East London Waterworks Park Project.  This is a community led campaign to clean up a former Thames Water depot near Lea Bridge Road, restoring the natural environment and creating two bathing ponds.  The intention is that swimming here should be free of charge, so as to maintain inclusivity for the local community.  If you are able to, please consider donating by clicking the logo below:
 

Does this sound too good to be true?  Please read on…

In 2020 and 2021 the KLPA provided updates to members about a project being developed in East London, on the boundary of Waltham Forest and Hackney, near to Lea Bridge Road. This is the East London Waterworks Park which would redevelop a now derelict industrial site for the benefit of the local community.

This project has since been developed further, following an earlier crowd funding campaign in 2021 which allowed the development of a business plan.  The community group leading this project has also worked on an inclusivity plan and an engineering report in the meantime.  They have approached the landowner, and now need to raise £1m to show them that the East London Waterwork Park project is a serious proposition. 

The former Thames Water depot would be cleaned up and developed as a public open space, restoring the natural environment and making available a naturally cleaned year-round open water swimming place.  The plan is to keep access to swimming free of charge so that the local community can benefit from access to what we know to be such a beneficial activity.

A new crowd funding page has been set up and needs to reach £500,000 by 23 August 2022 to continue.  Already nearly £200,000 has been raised.  If you are able to, please consider donating to a project which will help to bring back inclusivity to open water swimming in London:

Further details of the project can be seen here:

The KLPA will hold its monthly merchandise stall, at the Ladies’ Pond, on Sunday 17 July 2022 from 9 am to 11 am.  We have books, mugs and knitted hats for sale and all still at just £10 each.  Knitted hats and mugs can be bought in sets of 4 for £35, including mix and match options. We can take cash, cheque or card payment.

The bright coloured hats help with visibility for the lifeguards if you are swimming in poor light (possibly not an issue in the middle of summer!). The books and mugs continue to make popular presents for friends and family.

Help to support the work of the KLPA and join us at the merchandise stall on 17 July 2022. We aim to keep our merchandise prices affordable so that they are accessible to as many swimmers as possible, and they all have a practical use.

After four months, we now have a decision on the Judicial Review which took place at the High Court on 23-24 February 2022. We can confirm the following brief information today and will write to members with more details as soon as there has been an opportunity to read the judgement in depth.

The claim for disability discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments has not been upheld by the High Court. This is of course disappointing news but we are pleased to have been able to support Christina Efthimiou in this case, which was very important to bring. We will also continue to campaign through other channels for the return of inclusivity at the bathing ponds, which had provided a safe and healing space for so many people in the past regardless of their income.

The KLPA would like to thank Christina Efthimiou for having the courage to pursue this important issue.  We would also like to thank the legal team at Leigh Day led by Kate Egerton, as well as our representative in Court Zoe Leventhal QC and her team at Matrix Chambers, for all of their hard work and dedication.

We will provide members with more detail when there has been an opportunity to analyse the contents of the judgement. 

Thank you to all KLPA members and to everyone else who has taken an interest too, your support is very much appreciated.