Pells Pool

Apologies (especially to Christiaan) for the radio silence of late - I've been so busy swimming it's left little time for writing about swimming. But by way of compensation I have two juicy posts in store! Beginning with the singular delight of Pells Pool in Sussex - the country's oldest freshwater public pool at the grand age of 152, and destination of choice for Brockwell Icicle Fran to celebrate her birthday back in August.

Following our usual swim at Brockwell lido to show due deference and loyalty, 'Polar Bear' Peretz and I beetled off to Victoria, where we hopped on a train that set us on the mat in Lewes an hour later.

         

A very British scene en route

A quick 15 minute walk through the pleasant town of Lewes, and here we were at Pells Pool receiving a warm welcome from pool manager Phil and convening with Fran and family.

And what a wonderful space! The pool is 46 x 23 metres, so a bit shorter and considerably slimmer than Brockwell. The water (which comes from a local spring and is treated and mildly chlorinated before admittance) certainly feels special - light and bursting with restorative properties. The edges of the pool are curved and tilt slightly upwards, and in the deep end you can balance on the sloping wall if you put your mind to it.

The vibe was pretty family orientated, with most children availing themselves of the blue lilos provided by the lido, and just the one lane. But plenty of room for all in the Zone of Bewilderment if you don't mind dodging the odd inflatable.

We set up camp on one of the picnic tables scattered on the grassy area by the pool, and set ourselves to the business of swimming. I even picked up some top tips from Fran's husband, Alfonso, who swims so effortlessly as to confer the impression that you and all your surrounding are actually moving backwards.

Picnic lunch, aquatic chats, then time for another swim (a triple-dip day!).

Fran's patented front-crawl technique

And what's that we spy? Could it be... commemorative Pells Pool t-shirts!!

Splashion show

If this post has inspired you to head on down... well I'm afraid you'll have to wait until next spring, as it's closed for the winter. Ha! But do go - it's well worth the trip.

Sunday sun at Brockwell lido

Hooray - sunshine at Brockwell lido for the bank holiday weekend! And about time after a decidedly wintry feel to the water of late. (Yes I swam in the snow in January - but that was January! And therefore entirely normal and acceptable).

Still though, just over 14 degrees so not quite bath temperature yet. Today Candy (who featured in my previous post) was borrowing a wetsuit in order to build up some nautical mileage without contracting hypothermia. Wetsuits are by nature mischievous and uncooperative entities, a distant cousin of the erratic supermarket trolley, and this one proved no exception. While I have been known to stick my leg into my wetsuit arm, Candy fell victim to the full inside-out motif:

 

No sooner had Candy triumphed over adversity than another, much more serious development ensued. SHOCK HORROR the return of the spider to the girls' changing room!!! [Warning: the following video contains mild peril and is PG rated]

 

 

I beat a hasty retreat to the poolside, accompanied by my friend Hannah who dabbled in cold water swimming last year but is by no means acclimatized. At just over 14 degrees the water does retain a 'bracing' or 'invigorating' edge, shall we say, requiring an element of pluck for the initial plunge. Kitted out in inspirational Team GB togs, brave Hannah wasted little time in setting off with a confident breast-stroke, completing a triumphant 4 lengths in style (which unfort I almost completely missed owing to poor camera skills - sorry Hannah).

 

And hallo, who do we have here?

And now for some aquabatics: Rachel executing a flawless tumbleturn while keeping perfect time with the closing bars of Schubert's piano trio in E flat major:

 

All rounded off with some excellent Sunday baking offerings of raspberry bakewell cake (Peter) and rhubarb crumble (Candy) washed down with the wonderful Lido Cafe coffee.
 

The Swimmer Lite

The second Saturday of every month, I usually participate in theswimmer.org, an excellent swim-run adventure across London, encompassing four lidos and about 12 miles of running (more on that another time - it's a hoot). BUT, as part of the farce that is my life, I recently sprained my bum (at a picnic, egad), literally putting me out of the running for such adventures. Undeterred, I teamed up with three swimming pals from Brockwell lido to create... The Swimmer Lite!

A train from Herne Hill at the civilized hour of 8.30 dropped us within easy walking distance of the 'swimming end' of Hampstead Heath. We struck out cross country for the mixed pond first, weaving through droves of enthusiastic British Military Fitness conscripts and stopping to admire views of the London skyline confusingly reversed from this north-to-south perspective ("Oh there's the Shard!" etc).

The mixed pond turned out to be a bit, well, mixed. It's slightly exposed for my taste and there were lots of midges that get in your mouth if you (and they) aren't careful. But the water was nice (and a refreshing 13 degrees) and the changing rooms are huge and open air, so you can dance to birdsong while you get changed. We were surprised to see a few people there in wetsuits - seemed to jar with the pond vibe, although one family did have matching suits, which somehow made amends for the neoprene-based faux pas.

Anyway, this is where it gets really good! Next stop - the ladies' pond - a secluded idyll surrounded by trees, filled with silky soft water and the occasional coot. Plus at this stage of proceedings I introduced my shiny new underwater camera! The picture's a bit shaky as it's quite hard to be unshaky while holding camera with one hand and swimming with the other, but I'm sure I'll get better with practice.

Is it just me or did those mallards look singularly unimpressed?

Next we have Candy wielding camera, optimistically capturing the murky pond waters (and occasional flashes of my behind), followed by some Olympics-standard synchronized swimming from me, Sara and Talya. By this point endorphins were coursing through our veins, lending a slightly hysterical edge to the laughter.

A quick change and few warming star jumps, and we were off to our next stop: Parliament Hill lido.

Here the camera came into its own, for yea and behold, this lido is steel-lined (and the water isn't opaque):

And now prepare to marvel at Candy, Talya and Sara in full swim. The grace! The efficiency!

Time for a well earned blistering hot shower (no filming ha ha), before train back to our natural habitat. Whereupon Talya sauntered over to Brockwell lido and swam a mile, while the rest of us made vague domestic excuses and scattered (this is The Swimmer Lite after all).

Conclusion: Not only clouds but bottoms, be they sprained or belonging to a lido, can have silver linings.