I’m already over halfway through my Aspire Channel Swim – but there’s still time to sponsor me (please go here).
For miles 12 and 13 I got back to my cold water roots and swam in the open air, although in two very different experiences.
I was in London overnight on Thursday and so on Friday morning I had set my mind to swim at Parliament Hill Lido. I’ve heard so much about it through swimming friends on Facebook and although the only other lido I’ve swum at is the one in Guildford, I love the idea of them.
The downside of Parliament Hill Lido is that to get to it on public transport is a bit of a pain, it’s not super well connected and as I was carrying not only my swimming kit, but also my work bag and an overnight bag it felt like a bit of a trek.
However, once there it was lovely.
A friendly atmosphere (although I didn’t really speak to anyone), beautiful, cool and clean water and an amazing ‘space age’ design for the pool meant that I really enjoyed my swim. The exterior is an old-fashioned lido with a brick wall to the premises and slightly dilapidated (but clean and functional) changing and showering facilities. However the pool itself has a metal base that makes the water appear even cleaner and somehow ‘shinier’. As most pools have brick or tiles it felt strange entering this metal ‘world’, but it made for a great swim.
Happy, but chilly.
The pool is 60m long, so my original plan was to swim 30 lengths to make sure that I crossed over the 1,600m needed for a mile, but I was enjoying it so much that I swam an additional 4 lengths to go over 2k (I’m only counting the first mile to my Aspire total). I could have stayed in longer, but I was starting to feel the chill and I realised that I had a full working day to tackle.
But, and consider this a warning, I’ll definitely be back Parliament Hill Lido!
Mile 13 was on Saturday and I fancied more outdoor, cold water, so I made my way to my ‘regular’ lake, called Activities Away, up near Lincoln. I say regular, but I’ve probably only been about 4 times this year.
No metal bottom here. Instead there were weeds and fish to keep me company. The lake is marked out with an 800m lap, so two laps would equal the mile I needed to do, but I was enjoying it too much, so I did an extra lap (again, only counting the first mile towards the Aspire challenge).
Tea and cake at Activities Away – the real reason we swim!
1000kmstowindermere 
I’m enjoying reading about your Aspire Channel Swim. Your blog’s inspiring me to improve my technique so that I enjoy the long distances more. Keep up the good work!
That’s great to hear and thanks for saying so.
If you can get to London I can recommend Ray at Swim Canary Wharf (I talk about him here – https://1000kmstowindermere.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/improving-my-technique/).