Join the Mixed Pond Association for just £3
The aim of the Mixed Pond Association is to protect swimming at the Mixed Pond by ensuring swimmers are represented in the decision making process of the management of the ponds. Membership is open to all for just £3 per season: less than the cost of one swim!
About the Mixed Pond
The Hampstead Heath Mixed Pond is a former 18th century reservoir which looks and feels like a natural pool, surrounded by trees, lined by rushes at each end and home to fish and water birds. From April to late October it provides a lifeguarded outdoor mixed bathing area suitable for competent swimmers to enjoy outdoor swimming in fresh water that is quality tested weekly during the season by the Environment Agency, the results of which can be found here.
There is no shallow area to stand up in and you enter deep water directly from the deck.
Open-air swimming is internationally famous on Hampstead Heath with the Ladies’ Pond, the Men’s Pond, the Mixed Pond and the Parliament Hill Lido.
Hampstead Heath and the swimming locations are managed by the City of London.
The mixed pond is located on the East Heath Road side of Hampstead Heath, not far from the Royal Free Hospital. There is a large car park about 5 minutes walk from the pond and, if coming by train, Hampstead Overground station is less than 10 minutes walk. Cycles can be locked against the wooden fence near the entrance to the ponds.
There are lots of coffee shops, bakeries and small restaurants nearby to enjoy a pre or post swim snack. Whilst you can bring food into the Mixed Pond enclosure, please note that no alcohol may be consumed in the pond area. Do not leave any rubbish on the ground, where it will harm wildfowl and attract rats.
The mixed pond is open from sunrise until sunset during the season which runs from April to late October each year.
Outside of these times, the mixed pond is closed for swimming.
For information about the separate Winter Swimming Club click here.
For 2024, charges to swim at the ponds on Hampstead Heath are £4.70 per person per swim (£2.80 for concessions). There are also season tickets available for regular swimmers who will find the cost of these much better value if you swim more than about 3 times a month. Free swimming is available for those aged 8 -16 or over 60 before 09:30 each morning. (Bring proof of age).
During peak summer season (June/July/August), swim sessions between noon and 5pm should be pre-booked online. This is to manage crowds and safety on busy days. Find details of booking requirements on the City of London Website.
Children under 8 are not allowed to swim in any of the three ponds or to enter the bathers’ compounds at any time (the water is deep throughout - no shallow areas). Young people aged 8 to 16 must be able to swim without floatation aids and must be accompanied by an adult who will be in the water with them and, on their first visit, children will need to pass a very short swimming test in front of one of the life-guards.
Families with younger children (under 8 years old) can enjoy outdoor bathing at the Parliament Hill Lido which has a large shallow end.
Let’s celebrate our Mixed Pond in pictures.
We’d like to capture the tranquillity and natural beauty of the pond by sharing your photos on the Mixed Pond Association website. We have set up a Dropbox for your submissions. Each month, the site’s editors will select the best image and splash it on the home page, with credit to the photographer. We’ll place a selection of other good photos in a gallery on the site, with credits. The idea is to show our pond, month to month, as the seasons change and to showcase your photography. Shots from inside or outside the grounds are welcome. Just be sure to obtain permission from any person who would be identifiable in a photo. (No need to get an OK from the herons, ducks and coots.) We look forward to seeing your work. Click Gallery for our photo library.
Sarah Walker December 2023