Swimming in the Serpentine

Today has been very unusual and very good fun. Because James was working, I had the opportunity to spend a whole day by myself in London before meeting James and flying to Berlin tomorrow. My pleasant dilemma has been; how to best spend my time? Now if it had been winter I would have headed for museums or art galleries, or perhaps even a matinée at the theatre. But what would I really like to do on this glorious July day in London? Suddenly the answer came to me - go swimming outdoors of course! Unlike Glasgow, London has quite a few outdoor pools or lidos, and the most central of these is a section of the Serpentine in Hyde Park. I planned my route and packed my swimming costume and I was ready to go! All went smoothly and by eleven o'clock I arrived at Hyde Park. The lido is LOVELY and well organised, you access it via a bridge and it is surrounded by bushes on the land side so it has a nice private feel to it. I had a coffee at the Lido café and then got changed and hired a sun lounger which I placed under a large sycamore tree. There were plenty of other people there, especially families, but it was not too crowded either, the atmosphere was relaxed and happy. After reading my book for a while I decided to go for my swim. I was a bit concerned about what the swimming area would be like underfoot; I thought it might be slimy but in fact it was quite sandy. Of course there were plenty of weeds floating past me under the water as I swam along, but the water was better than I had feared and nice and warm after the past few weeks' heatwave. I loved my time in the water! I swam about for an hour or so, just taking in the view of the river with pedalos going up and down, people walking and jogging and sunbathing in the park, ducks swimming around me. I showered beside the river (no shampoo allowed because it drains straight back into the water), then relaxed on my sun lounger until I was completely dry. 

I then went to see the nearby Diana Memorial Fountain, which I haven't visited until now. I liked it very much, and on this sunny day it was FULL of children walking round it (it's a big loop). Signs requested that people sit on the edge of the fountain to paddle rather than walk on it, but this was being completely ignored, and I felt that Diana would have approved of all the fun!

I went to nearby Harrods for lunch at the dim sum bar and a browse around, which was pleasant but awfully busy. And then I made my way to Luton airport where I met James at the Holiday Inn Express where we had supper together. At only five minutes walk from the airport terminal I would definitely go back there in similar circumstances.