Hampstead Women's Pond

One of my most favourite places is the Womens Pond on Hampstead Heath. Its such a special, almost secret place and it makes me know I'm at home when I visit. When I lived in London, I came often, summer and winter. A quick dip in winter gets your heart pumping and staves off colds like nothing else. I always tried to shy off, but then saw the older ladies who braved the ice and realised I had no excuse. Summer is pure delight. Kingfishers early in the morning. Ducks, moorhens and geese nesting messily on the life rings, then proudly showing off their young, who trailed behind them across the meadows.

I love the wildflowers on the paths and the heathrobinson-esque shower arrangement, involving a hot water tap and buckets when the warm shower stops. I love the chat of the regulars in the mornings and the welcomeness they show to newcomers, offering spare costumes and towels. I even love the school girls in large groups who lounge lazily on the meadows in the summer holidays, talking at the top of their voices then shriek as they enter the water.

My favourite thing to do is come early, with a friend and, after a big stomp around the Heath, and catch our breath every time at the top of Parliament Hill, use our swim as a good catch up. Then scrambled egg breakfast at either Kalendar (was Cafe Mozart) on Swains Lane, or a walk to Kenwood to sit outside in the pretty garden and read the paper in the sun.