Swimmers return to Hampstead Heath ponds as coronavirus lockdown further eased

One of London's most popular set of outdoor pools has reopened to swimmers again after closing for months during the coronavirus lockdown.

Hampstead Heath men's, ladies' and mixed bathing ponds, as well as the nearby Parliament Hill lido, reopened for early-morning swimmers on Saturday after the Government said outdoor pools could reopen from July 11.

City of London Corporation, which manages the pools, said lifeguards have been trained to keep to social distancing rules if they need to assist swimmers in the water.

The corporation added that if the new early-morning sessions run safely, extra swimming sessions will be added.

Anne Fairweather, chair of the City of London Corporation’s Hampstead Heath management committee, said: “We are asking all swimmers to respect the new safety arrangements, and recognise that we have limited capacity with these Covid-secure restrictions, as we welcome people back.”

Charlton lido, in south-east London, has also reopened to a small number of invited swimmers ahead of a wider reopening on Monday.

Mark Sesnan, CEO of Greenwich Leisure Limited, said he is “delighted” about the reopening of Charlton Lido.

“We’ve been closed for nearly four months and like our regular customers, our staff have been itching to get back open," he said.

“Charlton lido is a hugely popular community venue that celebrated its 81st birthday this year. We’ve got customers who came on the first day it opened.

“Of course, while swimming is one of the safest leisure activities because chlorine kills the Covid, we do have safety top of mind."

Other outdoor pools in the UK will remain partly or fully closed for now.

The Serpentine lido in Hyde Park, central London, will remain closed to the public, although swimming club members can now get back in the water.

A Royal Parks spokeswoman said: “Our project to expand and upgrade the changing facilities has been put on hold due to current circumstances.

“We will not be opening the public swimming facility in the Serpentine at the present time as we are unable to do so safely.”

The “size and configuration of the small changing rooms” makes it unsafe to open the lido, the spokeswoman said.

And Everyone Active, which runs five outdoor pools Plymouth, Hemel Hempstead, Stroud and Ashby-de-la-Zouche councils, said its facilities will stay shut for now because they weren't ready for the recent Government announcement letting them reopen.

A spokeswoman for Everyone Active, said: “We are aware of the Government announcement yesterday, which confirmed outdoor pools can reopen from July 11.

“We had no prior warning of the announcement date, and therefore we are discussing with our respective local authority partners the arrangements for reopening at the moment.

“We will be in touch with customers soon to confirm the details and the date for reopening of all our facilities.

“We thank everyone for the patience and support whilst we work as quickly as we can, in partnership with the Councils.”

The news of some outdoor pools reopening comes as people across the UK are set to bask in warmer weather this weekend after a wet week.

Most Brits will be able to enjoy the sunshine again on Saturday and Sunday with temperatures reaching the mid-twenties, according to the Met Office.

The early hours of Saturday will be cooler than previous nights this week, which have been humid for many people across the country.

The day itself will be mostly dry, with temperatures reaching around 22C, but with light showers in Scotland and northern England.

Sunday will be even warmer, with the mercury pushing up to 24C. London and southern England will be hottest, but areas as far north as Aberdeen could also be as warm as 22C on Sunday.

Met Office meteorologist Steven Keates told the Standard: "It should be pretty nice across the country, with lots of dry weather around, a fair amount of sunshine as well and it should be pleasantly warm, not particularly hot.

"Temperatures should be about average for the time of year with light winds and some sunshine - it should feel quite nice out there for the majority of us this weekend."

He added: "Saturday will start off quite cool and fresh, less muggy than it's been for the past few nights, particularly in the south. A nice sunny start but the cloud will bubble up through the day and there'll be a few showers around on Saturday, mainly across parts of Scotland and northern England but nothing particularly heavy.

"Much of the southern half of England and Wales will get away with a dry day. There'll be light winds, that will help temperatures climb up to probably around 21C or 22C, warmest in southern England. London and down towards Hampshire... will see the highest temperatures."

Mr Keates went on: "It will be dry overnight into Sunday and quite cool - temperatures will be well down into single figures in sheltered rural areas. If you're camping this weekend it will certainly be a fresh start to Monday morning. On Sunday it'll be a nice day with plenty more sunshine around. I don't think there'll be any showers on Sunday, just a dry day with sunny spells. Light winds and again those temperatures will be coming up nicely so probably a little bit warmer on Sunday compared to Saturday, with a high of about 24C.

"Then later in the day it looks quite the cloud will thicken and there'll be some rain to close out the weekend in Northern Ireland and the west of Scotland but most of us will have a largely dry weekend with some pleasant warmth to be had."

But people should take care when out in the sun, Mr Keates said.

He added: "UV levels will be high or very high for much fo the country this weekend so if you are out and about make sure you slap on plenty of sun cream, as the sun's obviously pretty strong this time of year."

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