Hampstead Heath Ponds

Hampstead Pond #1, Southernmost western pond on the Heath.

The Hampstead Ponds consist of three ponds on the heath's south-west corner, towards South End Green. Hampstead Pond #3 is the mixed bathing pond, where both sexes may swim (angling prohibited).

Hampstead ponds #1 is strictly a nature/wildlife pond and Hampstead pond #2 permits angling.

Directly north-west of the mixed bathing pong is the "Viaduct Pond" and west of that is the Vale of Health pond, these are arguably within the flow of the "Hampstead ponds", but aren't officially members of the group.

Highgate #1 pond is a nature reserve pond on Hampstead Heath.

Highgate Ponds are a series of eight former reservoirs, on the heath's east (Highgate) side, and were originally dug in the 17th and 18th centuries.[1] They include two single-sex swimming pools (the men's and ladies' bathing ponds), a model boating pond, and two ponds which serve as wildlife reserves: the Stock Pond and the Bird Sanctuary Pond. Angling is allowed in some of the ponds, although this may be threatened by proposals to modify the dams. The ponds are the result of the 1777 damming of Hampstead Brook (one of the Fleet River's sources), by the Hampstead Water Company, which was formed in 1692 to meet London's growing water demands.[2]

"Boudicca's Mound", near the present men's bathing pond, is a tumulus where, according to local legend, Queen Boudicca (Boadicea) was buried after she and 10,000 Iceni warriors were defeated at Battle Bridge.[3] However, historical drawings and paintings of the area show no mound other than a 17th-century windmill.

Hampstead Heath's Men's bathing pond (Highgate #2 pond), facing North.

Hampstead has three different ponds for swimming: one for men, one for women and one mixed. Only swimmers over eight years of age are allowed; those between eight and 15 years old must be in the care of an adult. Winter swimming is sometimes available at the ponds, which remain popular with users.

The men's pond had a diving tower, but this was dismantled following an accident in the 1970s and only a low level board remains, along with showers and a small sunbathing and changing area.

Quality of water tests — which comply with EU regulations — are routinely performed on all three swimming ponds, and results are available through the official City of London website. The three ponds are not to be confused with Parliament Hill Lido, built in 1938, now with a stainless steel lining.

In December 2017, the City of London corporation, in charge of running the pools, confirmed that transgender women are allowed to use the women's pool per the Equality Act 2010. Julie Bindel, who uses the pond regularly, criticised the decision to be welcoming towards trans women, although reaction was more positive from other groups.[4][5]

In 2011, it was announced that the City of London was proposing extensive works on the ponds and dams, which it claimed were necessary for safety reasons in the event of a rare major storm. The proposals included measures to improve the water quality of the ponds as well as improvements to the pipes and weirs that allow water to cascade from one pond to the other. These initial recommendations followed engineers' reports in 2005 that the hydrology of the ponds was poorly understood. These same engineering reports resulted in engineering works in 2006 on the two ponds in the grounds of Kenwood House, to make their overflow structures and dams safer. There was strong opposition from the swimming clubs and the Protect Our Ponds campaign. In 2013 a united campaign was launched called Dam Nonsense to oppose the works, which the campaign claimed unnecessary and in conflict with the Hampstead Heath Act 1871. The campaign included all the groups opposed to the proposals. The work on the Hampstead Heath dams was further complicated by the regulations embodied in the 1975 Reservoir Act, which only relate to three dams on the Heath, and the regulations under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 which potentially relate to all 14 dams on the Heath. The Heath and Hampstead Society took the engineering decisions of the City of London to judicial review in November 2014: the interpretation of the 1975 Reservoir Act was challenged and thereby the nature of the proposed engineering works to the dams. The case was heard by The Honourable Mrs Justice Lang (DBE) and a ruling, in favour of the City of London, was issued on 28 November 2014 (case number CO/4175/2014). The judgement also addressed the status of the proposed engineering works relative to the provisions of the 1871 Act, again ruling that the engineers had shown due consideration for the provisions of the Act.

The work went ahead and raised the height of the dams, in the case of the dam above the Men's Swimming Pond by 18 feet. The City of London Corporation said the work should be carried out urgently to reduce danger of flooding in surrounding built-up residential areas in the event of one of the dams bursting. The initial estimate of the number of lives which might be lost, in the event of a dam collapse in an extreme flood event, was over 2000 (2006 estimate). This figure has been reduced to less than 400, still a large number. However the chance of such an event is one in 400,000 years.[6]

The regulated dams under the 1975 Reservoir Act are the Model Pond and the Men's Bathing Pond in the Highgate Chain. Highgate Number 1 pond would have been covered by the Act but the water level was lowered by the GLC in 1984. In the Hampstead chain, Hampstead Number 1 pond is also regulated under the 1975 Act.

The men and women's ponds are on the eastern side of the park, off of Millfield Lane. The mixed bathing pond is in the centre of the Heath, and is a 10-15 minute walk from Hampstead Heath railway station and from South End Green, at the junction of Pond Street and East Heath Road, which is served by several bus routes.

• The London Encyclopaedia, Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert, Macmillan.
• City of London Corporation, Swimming on Hampstead Heath
• Diving at Highgate Ponds on the Lost Lidos website.