Stuck on a train to London in an August heatwave, passengers were taking emergency measures: fans, cold drinks pressed to cheeks, quiet expiration. As I journeyed, I realised I was an hour early for a journalistic assignation at a pub close to Hampstead Heath. I hadn’t set foot in this pub since I lived close to the Heath a quarter of a century ago, when I was new to London and swam in the ponds. I had a sudden, nostalgic brainwave: could I swim in the ponds before my meeting? I’d heard dark tales about pre-booked admission only, but when I checked online, miraculously, the hour-long slot before my interview was still available. I booked and changed trains for the Heatwave Express, the North London Line, which takes swimmers to the Heath. The mixed pond is a brown lozenge of water set in a cleft in the rolling greenery, surrounded...
I’m afraid this isn’t one of our four free articles available in full, which are set out in the first two rows of the ‘Magazine’ page.
Please click here to find them.
To buy a digital version of this issue for just £2.99, click here
