Outdoor swimmers warned of hypothermia after string of incidents at Parliament Hill Lido

Lifeguards reported ‘at least one hypothermic swimmer every day’ last week
Swimmers have been getting into trouble at the outdoor unheated pool at Hampstead Heath
Michael Donald
Miriam Burrell29 November 2022

Outdoor swimmers have been warned to have quick dips only after a string of hypothermia incidents at Parliament Hill Lido as water temperatures dropped to 8C.

Lifeguards have “dealt with at least one hypothermic swimmer every day” last week, staff at the unheated outdoor pool in Hampstead Heath, north London, wrote on social media.

“They are becoming concerned that people are not taking the temperatures seriously.”

The water temperature has “dropped like a stone” and is now sitting around 8 degrees, the post said.

“This is significantly colder than it was just a week ago, yet a number of swimmers are still trying to stay in the water for as long as they did last week,” staff warned.

Swimmers have been urged not to stay in the water for too long and not to rely on the sauna to warm up.

People are also warned not to enter the water if they have been drinking or not had enough sleep the night before.

“The extremes of temperature can be dangerous and have led to multiple incidents this week,” staff said.

Hypothermia happens when you get too cold and your body temperature drops below 35C.

Although none of the hypothermia incidents were serious, and no one needed hospital treatment, lifeguards were taken away from their other duties, Emma Rea, co-chair of the Parliament Hill User Group told the Standard.

Ms Rea said the lido had been “inundated by people wanting to try out this new ‘craze’ of winter swimming in recent years”.

A spokesperson for the Hampstead Heath charity, which is managed by the City of London Corporation, said: “We are urging swimmers to follow our cold water swimming guidelines, especially during the recent drop in temperatures. “There are risks associated with cold water swimming, even for regular winter swimmers. We are advising people to swim with care and only spend a short amount of time in the water.”The Parliament Hill Lido is staffed with fully trained lifeguards, the spokesperson said.

Outdoor swimming has become popular in recent years as studies reveal many associated mental and physical health benefits, such as boosting the immune system and increasing metabolism.

Parliament Hill Lido is open all year round, with shorter opening hours for the winter months. The pool is operated by the Corporation of London and run by the Parliament Hill User Group charity.

There are a number of outdoor lidos in London, including Brockwell Lido and London Fields Lido. Brockwell Lido reported the water temperature to be 8.9C on Monday.

Tooting Bec Lido closed from November 20 for around nine months due to restoration works.

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