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Lakes and rivers for swimming in or around London

gaijingirl said:
The lake in Beckenham Place Park is opening next week (20 July).

I've swum at lots of the London open water places but there is a marked difference between places like Shepperton Lake (for triathletes, marked course, one way swimming in laps - the one time I went there I was the only person not in a wetsuit) and say Hampstead Ponds/The Serpentine where you can swim laps if you want but there are plenty of swimmers there for more sedate swimming.

There are quite a few places now opening up but mostly it is catering for the former type of swimmer. Sadly it currently looks like BPP lake is aspiring to that style - but this remains to be seen.

I was once the former but now very much the latter - or somewhere in between. I still swim for exercise but I no longer want to wear a wetsuit or get into lanes.
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Heh, Shepperton lake is opposite Desborugh Island, which also has a small beach and is OK for Thames swimming. Gets quite messy as seems to attract scumbags who leave cans and bottles scattered around though.
 
Bahnhof Strasse said:
Heh, Shepperton lake is opposite Desborugh Island, which also has a small beach and is OK for Thames swimming. Gets quite messy as seems to attract scumbags who leave cans and bottles scattered around though.
Click to expand...

I was swimming with RubyToogood at a little spot a bit further in and we got heckled by some "lads". Well I did really - they caught me scrambling out in a most ungainly way. Ruby was floating serenely in the water.
 
This is my post on the open water thread:

"So I went to the opening of Beckenham Place Park swimming lake yesterday. I signed up for the "First swimmers" group with my daughter (9). Sadiq Khan did a speech and it was all very jolly. The lake itself is great - I am a good swimmer but after an "let's swim to that island" incident in the Adriatic about 12 years ago I get panicky in deep water. This lake is very very deep and you have to swim on a circuit but if you stick to the edges it's shallow enough to stand in. So it's only really crossing the lake when you are forced to go out of your depth. Also this means obviously you get a longer swim before having to re-lap. Conversely if you only want to swim in deep water that's fine too. This is good for me personally to work on this phobia.

Going forward it will be £3 to swim here but with really quite limited swimming times as it's been outsourced to a water sports company who specialise in SUP/kayaking etc. I think that the company must have been told that they have to provide swimming as an activity so they're trying to find a way of fitting it in to their main purpose which is the SUP/kayaking and I'm not sure they're easy bedfellows. Also it's basically completely impossible for them to police it - the lake is completely open and although there is a pontoon to enter from, it's perfectly possible to enter from multiple places not least the beach area...

There is also an area which is roped off for a sandy "beach" for kids which is free. It would be possible to lap swim here too I think when it's not busy/in winter. The deepest section is about 6ft deep and it's quite long, so personally, I could see myself swimming in this section in winter if the current limited hours/charging system stays in place. Absolutely tons of people were just swimming over the rope and joining the main swimmers in the lake anyway and I can't see how they can prevent that without employing lots of people just for that purpose which I doubt is financially viable.

So it remains to be seen how it will pan out. I would expect there to be some changes over the next year."
 
So the entire park is closed tomorrow following this massive bust up over safety. No one is saying why. I suspect it got visited today by some Lewisham Council people after the various negative reports and they were scared by what they saw - it was very very crowded today and with the heatwave over the next few days I suspect they've panicked a bit.

or maybe the water quality has dived after so many people swimming in it?
 
Last edited:
Loads and loads of people turned up yesterday. They all just went in without paying . The implemented safety regime was not up to observing that many swimmers. No one paid their announcements any heed.

So they have "shut" the lake and are installing Heras fencing around it.

I bet they fill the fucker in.
 
They'd better not close it, I've been so looking forward to having a swimming lake 10 mins train from where I live. Perhaps they'll just put up a bigger security fence. Such a shame we have to wait though in this weather.

I went to have a swim in Shadwell Basin yesterday but they were trying to fish out a body :( Three swimmers missing in river Thames

I've swum there quite a bit but have never been tempted to dive down towards the bottom. It would just take your trunks getting caught on a shopping trolley... I suspect I'll be back there once the hooha has cleared up as its so deep I don't see any risk from swimming on the surface.
 
It wasn't very well thought out. We went on Sunday and quite a few people were having free swims. As I said at the time - they're going to have to rethink it PDQ!
 
Also kind of amazed they didn't have plans for lifeguards. I use the Serpentine Lido which is similar in that it goes out quite deep, and they always have a lifeguard.
 
Brainaddict said:
Also kind of amazed they didn't have plans for lifeguards. I use the Serpentine Lido which is similar in that it goes out quite deep, and they always have a lifeguard.
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There are lifeguards - but they're only there for the swimming lake - not the beach area.
 
During this heatwave outdoor swim spaces get mobbed, but indoor pools are largely empty and just as refreshing. Little tip you can have for nothing, there.
 
Personally I do not find indoor pools refreshing - water is too hot, changing rooms too hot.
I also don't like the lidos when they're crowded on hot days for the same reasons plus horrible murky water and human soup (although I change outside - no WAY I'm going into the changing rooms on a day like today).
 
Beckenham Place Park latest:

we would like to say a big Thank You for all your support over the last month.

We can finally say that we will be Open tomorrow morning (18th August) from 7am to 6pm

All you need to do is go to the Purple Tent to enter. There is an entry fee to gain access to the area this will be £3 for adults and £2 for Children, under 3's go free.

Paddle Area - is still closed for the moment

Swimming - Will be running throughout the day split down in to 2 hour sessions;

7am to 9 am
9:15 to 11:15
11:30 to 13:30
13:45 to 15:45
16:00 to 18:00

With the paddle area being closed we will only be able to accept those 8 years + to go swimming. Due to safety re-evaluations everyone will be required to wear tow floats in the lake. Don't worry though as these will be provided in your entry fee, if you have one at home you are always welcome to bring that along as well.

Boat Hire - Will be running in the pontoon end of the lake all day, you can still hire boats from 2 years +. You will still need to go to the Purple tent to hire either canoe or paddle board, this is where you will be issued a wrist band which you show to our staff running boat hire.

All Sessions will have a 15 minute warning and will be cleared by then end of session time to allow staff to reset the area between sessions.

Pre-booked Swims - Those of you that opted for swim passes the duty manager on site will have a list, Please bring your original booking email with you as well.

Many Thanks
we would like to say a big Thank You for all your support over the last month.

We can finally say that we will be Open tomorrow morning (18th August) from 7am to 6pm

All you need to do is go to the Purple Tent to enter. There is an entry fee to gain access to the area this will be £3 for adults and £2 for Children, under 3's go free.

Paddle Area - is still closed for the moment

Swimming - Will be running throughout the day split down in to 2 hour sessions;

7am to 9 am
9:15 to 11:15
11:30 to 13:30
13:45 to 15:45
16:00 to 18:00

With the paddle area being closed we will only be able to accept those 8 years + to go swimming. Due to safety re-evaluations everyone will be required to wear tow floats in the lake. Don't worry though as these will be provided in your entry fee, if you have one at home you are always welcome to bring that along as well.

Boat Hire - Will be running in the pontoon end of the lake all day, you can still hire boats from 2 years +. You will still need to go to the Purple tent to hire either canoe or paddle board, this is where you will be issued a wrist band which you show to our staff running boat hire.

All Sessions will have a 15 minute warning and will be cleared by then end of session time to allow staff to reset the area between sessions.

Pre-booked Swims - Those of you that opted for swim passes the duty manager on site will have a list, Please bring your original booking email with you as well.

Many Thanks
 
And now this:

Closure!
Hi Everyone,

I am extremely sorry to say after talking with the Council this afternoon there have been some unforeseen circumstances which mean we are unable to open this weekend.

I would like to take this time to Thank you all for your support but I feel like we have let you down again! we are working very hard to get everyone back in the lake again soon! please keep your eyes and ears alert for updates.

Many Thanks

The PTP Coaching Team!
 
this is farcical, i was thinking of going tomorrow for the first time :(
when are we going to be allowed to take responsibility for ourselves?
 
Well the lake is open to swimmers now. Loads of faff to book online. Warned that changing area is very limited. No lockers and no showers available. I'm going to visit today and have a mooch but no swim.
The last time I visited the park it was all a building site.

I will miss the sight of the wrecked golf course.
 
Swam in Beckenham this summer, have to book in the week ahead, booking resets on a Saturday morning. The park is looking great, and is really well used.

Landlords of the mansion are cunts having turfed out the record shop alone at short notice.
 
It was a lovely walk around the park today. Are there two lakes though? One I found, surrounded by junk and hemmed in with scrappy heras fencing. Is this the swimming lake? 20200917_112655.jpg20200917_112635.jpg
 
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