Festive chills and thrills of a Christmas day swim are a chilly tradition in the UK, for those whose commitments don’t clash with Parkrun. For me, spending the Christmas holiday’s in South West London ruled out a quick dip in the bracing North Sea or English Channel.
Not entirely convinced by an early start or the pleasure of very cold water swimming – skin swimming in the Thames is organised year-round by Love Open Water – I opted for a midday private swim session at Hampton Pool, guaranteeing a warm and uncongested swim.
Hampton pool is an outdoor heated (28°C) 36m pool. By comparison London Royal Docks is currently 6.8°C.
Hampton pool also held exclusive swims from 5:45am-7:45am. Then open to the public from 8am-midday.
If you are interested in freezing your baubles off, Swimming Society’s crowd-sourced UK Festive Swim Calendar 2019 will help you find your nearest swim over the festive period.
Happy swimming!
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