Saturday Midday - Serpentine

After the chilly nature of the heated water at Park rd pools we were all a little nervous about dipping our toes into our next Lido – the roped off swimming section of the Serpentine.

As we waited for John to get his wet suit on Jo tested the warmth of the nearby kids paddling pool and was disturbed to find it even colder than she expected. Seb and Ally decided to cool down in the freshwater showers before jumping into the lake but they were too cold for the rest of us.

Luckily the water was warmer than any of us expected – even John managed to get swimming - and being able to swim in such stunning scenery was well worth all the apprehension. While the scenery is stunning the disturbing squelch underfoot was less so and Libi felt smug having bought a pair of jelly shoes to swim in. The rest of us simply did our best to avoid putting our feet down.

Jo was slightly intimidated by the local swan who was unimpressed to be sharing the lake with us and sadly (or hilariously) Jo also found herself, along with Seb, being heckled by some tourists in a boat. Despite the tourists, swans and murky water it’s beautiful Lido and it's understandable to hear that a few hard nuts swim there all year round - sometimes breaking the ice to get in. Even better, while we waited for John to change out of his wet suit we were given a donation to LEPRA from an interested passer by.

Thanks to the Serpentine's support we were able to add £8.00 (plus £2 from a passer by) to the sponsorship pot and as a team we swam 3300m.