Taking a dip

One happy memory of mine is from a few years ago. I was visiting a very good friend of mine in California. We were on a horseback trek in Yosemite National Park and our camp had been set up next to a lake. My friend and I went for a walk around the lake but there was no clear path and after about half an hour we decided to give up and go back to camp. My friend is particularly brave, and persuasive. She persuaded me to swim back to camp across the lake with her.
The water was ice cold from nearby melting glaciers so it took a lot of persuasion and giggling before we actually jumped in. We had our shoes and clothes, even a camera. It was no easy task to swim, holding all these items above our heads, in a fit of giggles, in freezing cold water but we did. And why did doing it make me feel so good ? because I new I could have easily done the half hour walk back, but instead we did something silly and joyful that made me feel like I was fun and free.


Here in London I don't have lakes in the middle of nowhere, with views of glaciers whilst I'm swimming, but I do have Hampstead Heath Ponds and my local lido. Even though a local outdoor swimming pool may not sound like a luxury to some, it is to me. After all, I don't know of anywhere else in Britain which has a selection of outdoor pools and it was something I had never experienced before moving to London.
I'll certainly be packing one of my costumes (seen above) and taking the train to Hampstead this summer. I'll be riding my bike over to my local lido quite often as well. What do you do when it's hot and balmy and you really need a swim?