Brockwell Lido Midwinter swim (again)

A final posting about winter swims. Enjoyable as they can be, all that collective jollity, silly hats and standing around in the cold can sometimes be a bit too much to take. As such, I was planning to give this year's Brockwell Lido Midwinter swim a miss.

However, a combination of the air temperature rising to balmy 10C and curious to see what the repainted pool looked like, saw me once again poolside, waiting to take the winter plunge with fellow South Londoners. And it was great. I really enjoyed the swim (rather than it being an ordeal and excuse for a drink) plus, unlike last year, the atmosphere was very relaxed.

The pool looked fantastic too. The new Mediterranean blue colour made the water look inviting even on a cloudy day. As an aside, I really think the owners of the Lido are missing a trick by not opening up the pool during the winter to members of its gym. The combination of modern gym, outdoor swim and then heated spa pool would have me signing up.

Thanks to athlonejonnie for the picture.

Brockwell Lido Midwinter Swim

Saturday morning saw the annual Midwinter Swim take place at Brixton's Brockwell Lido. Over a hundred hardy (foolhardy?) South Londoners took to the freezing water, but only after the ice had been broken. Some frolicked in their bikinis while others were covered head to toe in Neoprene. I opted for the two width swim which felt fine until about 10 metres from the end when everything seemed to go into slow motion. Still, the sun was shining and the showers were hot.

Of course this was but a mere dip. With all the current talk about global temperatures rising and polar ice beginning to melt, I was reminded of Lewis Gordon Pugh's iconic swim in the Arctic. In July 2007 the former lawyer became the first person to complete a long distance swim at the Geographic North Pole, spending nearly 18 minutes in the sub-zero temperature water of a large crack in the ice. Pugh undertook the challenge to highlight the devastating effects of climate change - it was only made possible because over the past few years there has been a dramatic reduction in the extent and thickness of the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. Watch a video of the swim here.

Back to Christmas 2009 and the British newspapers have already started reporting on the winter dips in silly hats events that take place up and down the country. Today, the FT features some picturesque places to get your kit off, and the rest of Fleet Street will follow over the next week or so.