 |
| Highgate Ponds 1913 (no Holly Lodge) |
It's lunchtime. I leave my colleagues to surf the web and eat their plastic wrapped sarnies or microwaved leftovers, I'm going over Hampstead Heath. The sun is definitely making an appearance today. After a little jog up and down the hills I head for the Men's Pond. As I reach the gate to the pond I feel a little bit excited, you're going to enjoy this I tell myself.
The pond and changing room are deserted. The sign on the wall says '4 degrees - invigorating', sounds good, just what I'm looking for. After a cautious entrance in to the water I swim off towards the perimeter rope, the cold is really gnawing at my muscles. I feel elated as I climb the ladder and I'm back on firmer terror.
I have a brief chat with a Finnish ice-swimmer, then run off to Kenwood and beyond then back to the normality of work. I don't mention my adventures to my colleagues, I don't know why.