Hampstead Heath - Brave swimmers take part in the Christmas Day ponds race in coldest conditions for years

Published: 29 December 2010
by DAN CARRIER

IT was the coldest Christmas Day swim for many a year.

And those brave – or foolhardy – souls who joined in the annual races at the Hampstead Heath Men’s Pond were only able to enter the freezing water because of air pumps that lifeguards had turned on during the week to break up the covering of ice.

Normally used in the summer to counter algae blooms, the devices meant the thick ice was kept at bay. And with gallons of mulled wine and minced pies to help warm the cockles for the 40 or so brave entrants, the annual morning swim was keenly contested, despite the bitter conditions.

Heath manager Paul Maskell said: “Our thermometers read zero but it was probably under that. We had to run diffusers all week to keep a little area clear for the race.”

He recalled a chilly Christmas around a decade ago that saw the swim in the ponds ­cancelled and moved instead to the Parliament Hill Lido

Mr Maskell added: “The Serpentine swim in Hyde Park was cancelled today because of the ice, so we were fortunate that we managed to keep a space large enough free so we could hold ours.”

Highgate Lifebuoys swimming club secretary and organiser Chris Ruocco gave his annual rendition of Christmas carols on the trumpet – before speeding to a well-deserved second place in the swimming club’s race, although there were allegations that the winner, Paul “Carol” Singer, may not have swum quite the required distance. 

Mr Ruocco said: “The last time the water was this cold was Christmas of 1963. The BBC sent a camera up here for a programme called Here and Now, presented by Hugh Thomas. We couldn’t swim then – we just cut a hole in the ice and plunged in.”

Women’s race winner Vanessa Hammond admitted that she had not swum since October due to the particularly grim weather of recent weeks – but still managed to turn in a cup-winning performance.

She said: “I swim regularly at the ponds, normally right through the year. It is the only place to swim. But I have been a bit slack these last few weeks. It is quite hard to get there when the nights close in and the weather is so horrible.”

Men’s allcomers race winner David Greenstreet also admitted he was short of practice.

“I haven’t swum regularly here for a while – but it is a great way to start Christmas Day,” he said. 

Meanwhile, other swimmers just went along for a refreshing dip. Friends Katinka Newman, Angelika Imber, Bee Rowlatt and Nandi Simpson leaped in after the races were done – and were too busy ­giggling to shriek at the cold. Nandi, a doctor who studies infectious diseases at University College London, said: “Let’s just say it was pretty bracing.”