I’ve been dipping a little toe back into open water swimming and recently visited the London Royal Docks. On a soggy ‘summer’s’ day more akin to November, I made my way via Canning Town tube and the Docklands Light Railway for a swim that I pre-booked on the Love The Open Water website which required me to become a NOWCA member: https://loveopenwater.co.uk/

I discovered that the docks are a hub of swimming activities ranging from coaching sessions, swim events and summer splashes for kids. There is a substantial effort to make the site accessible to children and families particularly in the summer when a portable lido is assembled and floats are available for children. The summer splash events are also free. I can only imagine that this is a huge draw. https://www.royaldocks.london/articles/royal-docks-summer-splash2024

Although I decided on wearing a wetsuit for my swim (in July!) after not having used one for the last two days in Parliament Hill lido, I did strip down to just swim trunks at the end for a final lap. A 400m course was set up initially, but a second longer course was available about midway through my swim and I managed a swim of just over 3.5km. Being very used to swimming pools meant that seeing nothing but dark green in the water at first was somewhat disconcerting. There was also the issue of sighting but eventually my crocodile eyes began to work.

The staff there are incredibly friendly and welcoming. This was apparent from the moment I arrived. The crowd was a mixture of swimmers with some like myself in the upper age bracket alongside serious ‘tri-type’ swimmers with all the gear. After settling in and getting used to the course, I experienced a really lovely sensation of being in an open expanse of water with birds and cable cars overhead. While it is very much an urban swimming environment, it is a place I’d love to return to.