Month: March 2021

Here are the arrangements for Spring and Summer access 2021:

“Capped Free Flow” access will be in place until 30 April 2021, which means that you will not have to make an advanced booking online in this time.  If the pond becomes full to the current capacity of 60 people, there will be a one-in-one-out procedure in place. 

Opening times at the Ladies’ Pond will be as follows:

DATE	OPENING TIME	LAST ENTRY	EXIT WATER	EXIT FACILITY
29 March -11 April	7am	4pm	4.15pm	4.30pm
12 – 30 April	7am	6pm	6.15pm	6.30pm

From 1 May 2021 there will be a mixture of “Capped Free Flow” and advanced booking.  We are waiting for more details of the online booking platform to be used, which is expected to be Eventbrite.  We hope to see the telephone booking line reinstated for those who do not have internet access or find the online booking system difficult to use (last year the number was 020 7332 3779).

CHARGES
The new prices for day tickets and season tickets will apply from 1 April 2021.  There will be free access for those with 60+ season ticket wristbands until 9.30 am but for now those under 16 are not permitted access at all to the bathing ponds.

Day tickets will go up to £4.05 (or £2.43 concession).  Cash payment is still being accepted but no change given, so this is not being made easy for those without access to contactless payment, or who prefer not to use it.

Existing season tickets have been extended by 83 days to reflect the lockdown period.  If you intend to buy a new season ticket (or renewal is still due on your old season ticket) the old prices will apply until 31 March 2021, so you might wish to take advantage of that window before the price increases apply.  This is especially relevant for holders of ponds-only concession season tickets who face inflation busting price rises on 1 April 2021.

CITY OF LONDON REVIEW 2020/2021
The City of London has published a review of the 2020/2021 swimming season including its implementation of enforced charging to access the bathing ponds. The document can be seen here and also has a brief reference to this year’s arrangements. If you wish to comment directly on this review please send your comments by 31 March 2021 to:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Please copy your response to [email protected]

For those who can afford to swim, and can navigate the booking system likely to be in place from 1 May 2021, we hope you enjoy your swims.  For those who are now excluded, we will continue to campaign on your behalf as the Heath belongs to all Londoners.

On 29 March 2021 the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds and Parliament Hill Lido are due to re-open under Covid-secure arrangements.

Whilst we have no issue with keeping staff and swimmers safe through safe-distancing measures and limited numbers, there is a significant disparity. We cannot see how this can be explained through logic and the City of London Corporation has failed to provide a rationale when asked.

This concerns “Capped Free Flow” entry. At the ponds and at the Lido, the earliest session each day will not require pre-booking. Later sessions, which are also time limited, will require online pre-booking (phone line arrangements have yet to be confirmed). At the bathing ponds, capped free flow will only be available until 10 am from 29 March to 20 September 2021. However, at the Lido this will be available until 1pm up to 30 April 2021 – a month later – before reverting to 10am from 1 May 2021. Overall there will be a disparity of 297 hours of capped free flow access between the bathing ponds and the Lido (3 hours x 3 ponds x 33 days).

Further details of these arrangements can be found here. Details of the new charges can be seen at pages 7-8 here, and will apply from re-opening on 29 March 2021.

If you are concerned about the differences in access arrangements for the Lido and bathing ponds, you can contact the City of London Corporation using the email addresses below. You may wish to ask for parity between the bathing ponds and the Lido for capped free flow hours, and for this to be put in place in time for re-opening on 29 March 2021. If the proposed differences in access arrangements will have a specific impact on you, please include this too:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Please copy your email to [email protected]