View From The Water
Outdoor swimmers need pools to survive, says Simon Griffiths
Simons local pool at Hampton
Swimming pools get a bad rap from outdoor swimmers. They’re crowded, smelly and expensive. They have unnecessarily complicated booking systems and arcane rules about what kit you can and cannot use. They’re too hot and you’re constrained by concrete. They’re boring. Unsurprisingly, some swimmers detest them.
Still, I love my local pools and I’m lucky to have several to choose from within easy walking or cycling distance. I know I’m spoilt to live close to Hampton Pool, possibly one of the best lidos in the UK, but even the bog standard 25m pool in Teddington is fine for training and it’s where I taught my kids to swim. I also have fond memories of the pool where I learned to swim (age 4) and then trained for several years, and the lido where I spent my teenage summers.