December 2025 Venue: Kenwood Ladies Pond, Hampstead Heath, London N6 6JA
Kenwood Ladies’ Pond – City of London
Amenities:
* Indoor / outdoor changing facilities
* Toilets and showers
* Lifeguards
* Assisted hoist water access
If you have to make one New Year’s resolution for 2026, then please make it a visit to the Ladies Pond on Hampstead Heath!
If you live in London, it probably doesn’t surprise you that despite the crowded tube and purposeful eye-contact-avoidance, there are often pockets of calm, green tranquillity to be found. Yet from my perspective, an infrequent visitor to the ‘Big Smoke’, there was something treasure-like about discovering an outdoor swimming spot, privately sunk in native woodland in the heart of North London.
Assuming you have completely fallen in love with the Ladies Pond already, and are Googling the website above, I must strongly advise that you book your swim slot ahead of time to avoid disappointment. This is particularly recommended during the summer months when the Ladies Pond is very busy. I had first come across the Ladies Pond after watching the compelling film documentary ‘The Ponds’. Available on Netflix, men and women who swim at the Ladies, Men’s and mixed ponds are interviewed, some in depth about why they chose to swim there and the benefits they’ve gained from it over the years.
This was my third visit to the Pond; my first time almost proving to be a poorly-planned disaster. In 2024, I had come to London for a weekend with my daughter. She was going to a (the!) Stray Kids concert in Hyde Park, and I was going on a mission to find this fascinating and historical outdoor pool.
On that occasion, it was a hot day, July I think, and I was carrying an overnight rucksack and a swimming bag, both getting heavier by the minute. The Northern line was stifling, and I was happy to eventually pop up to the surface at Hampstead tube station. I walked through the suburbs and onto a wide gravel path which wound through the Heath to the Ladies Pond. There’s a gate at the top of the lane, with a sign that expressly forbids males from entering. After that is a sloping gravel path running down to a payment booth, but on that occasion, due to the season and the beautiful weather, most of this path was filled with an animated and good-natured queue.
I had passed a couple of chalkboards on the slow shuffle to the payment booth, making it clear that bookings only were being accepted that day. But, as I had made the journey especially (and I was really looking forward to it), I asked if they had any space left. Kindly, I was informed they hadn’t but was asked to wait on a sunny bank nearby in case a slot became available. The bank area is a grassy space, with some tree-shade, perfect for warming up, reading and generally lolling about on after a swim. And do you know what reader? After half an hour, there was space for me! But, with hindsight, please don’t leave it to chance, because that day could have turned out a lot differently!
Anyway, I digress. December’s swim was better planned, colder, less busy and delightful.
December 15th, a Monday morning, and the approach to the Pond was different this time. When we got on the 263 bus at Archway, we avoided a very chilly breeze and a long walk up the hill to Highgate. I’ve visited my daughter previously at the Queens Wood café (pictured below), but I hadn’t ventured any further into Highgate. It has a photogenic high street, happily consisting of coffee shops and bakeries, beautiful flower shops, a stunning deli and a diverting Oxfam bookstore! Despite the obvious distractions, we headed towards Pond Square, (catching a glimpse of J.B. Priestly’s blue plaque) then on to Highgate Hill, Merton Lane and finally a right turn onto Millfield Lane on the edge of the Heath. From here, it’s a ten-minute walk to those, now familiar, gates and the Kenwood Ladies pond.
No photographs are allowed beyond the gates, so I’ll try to describe the setting accurately. There are several areas around the main deck for outside changing, and as it has been landscaped to provide privacy it has a semi-woodland, semi-garden feel. The main building houses changing rooms, showers and toilets and has a modern, almost Scandinavian look. (Lakeside picture below, credit to neapandspring.co.uk) Directly outside this block is a large deck with steps and handrails leading into the water. It’s a peaceful, hassle-free spot. Once in, I’d got a sense that I’d been invited personally to swim under the willow boughs and with the mallard visitors. There is a course marked out with buoys and rings floating in the middle of the lake to hold onto and have a chat, rather like an aqua coffee table! But it was too cold today to do that – the board said 7.7 degrees – so movement was essential. According to the Ladies Pond website, swimming in wetsuits or neoprene gloves/boots is acceptable, but tow-floats and other flotation devices are not permitted. There is a safety team in attendance all day.
It was a windy grey morning, and for a couple of minutes at the end of our swim, my daughter and I were the only ones in. As we were heading to the steps to get out, a cool sun squeezed through the clouds, shining just for a moment. We pushed away from the edge and trod water just for a minute to enjoy the reflected dazzling beams bouncing off the water’s surface and onto our faces. The Ladies Pond offers private and shared indoor changing, and today the bright red heat lamps were on and glowing above the door in the group changing area, which was very welcome.
All wrapped up again, but with the wind behind us, we swiftly retraced our steps up to Highgate and sought refuge in Gails for a much-appreciated cinnamon bun and delicious cup of coffee. We sat in the window, rewarming, and laughing at a rather sophisticated pigeon who seemed to be using the pedestrian crossing in front of us to get to the shop on the other side.
YouTube short film: Winter Nymphs 2016 Kenwood Ladies Pond – YouTube