There are three bathing ponds on Hampstead Heath, they all cost the same, and one of them is reliably warmer than the other two.
Across the City of London’s own weekly temperature records for 2026, the Highgate Men’s Pond ran warmest and the Hampstead Mixed Pond coldest, with the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond in between.
On 29 June the Men’s Pond was 26°C while the Mixed Pond was 24°C. On 13 July it was 25°C against 24°C. On 5 October it was 17°C against 16°C. Two degrees in late June is the difference between pleasant and bracing, and nobody publishes the comparison.
The three ponds, and the one that closes
Kenwood Ladies’ Pond: open all year round.
Highgate Men’s Pond: open all year round.
Hampstead Mixed Pond: April to October only, and closed to public swimming at other times.
So for roughly five months of the year the only mixed-sex outdoor swimming on the Heath is Parliament Hill Lido, because the single-sex ponds stay open and the mixed one does not.
There is also a paddling pool on the Heath, run separately.
One price, all year
Adult £5.00. Concession and under 16s £3.00. Valid to 31 March 2027.
That is the whole price list, and it is worth pausing on. The ponds have no session pricing at all, while the lido charges £5.00, £8.80, £8.80 and £5.00 depending on the time of day in summer.
So in the middle of a summer day the ponds are £5.00 and the lido is £8.80 for the same adult. Between roughly 11am and the evening, the ponds are the cheaper swim by £3.80. At breakfast and in the evening they cost exactly the same.
Season tickets, and why the annual barely helps here
Bathing Ponds: £83.00 for six months, £157.00 for twelve. Concession £50.00 and £94.00.
Two consecutive six-month tickets cost £166 against £157 for the year. The annual ticket saves £9.
Compare that with the lido, where twelve months costs £252 against £342 for two sixes, a £90 saving. The annual commitment is worth ninety pounds at the lido and nine at the ponds, so if you are unsure how long you will keep it up, two six-month pond tickets cost you almost nothing in lost discount.
The break-even is the simpler calculation: at £5 a swim, a £157 annual ticket pays back after 32 swims, which is about three a month. A £83 six-month ticket pays back after 17.
Lido and Bathing Ponds combined: £216.00 for six months, £348.00 for twelve. Bought separately for a year that would be £409, so the combined ticket saves £61.
Tickets are wristbands, with accounts run by Loylap as a service partner to the City of London.
Cashless since 1 October
From 1 October 2026 the Heath swimming facilities take cashless payments only. Everything outside the summer bookable window is pay, or rather tap, on entry.
The hours change eleven times a year
This is the genuinely hard part of planning a pond swim, and the reason people arrive to a locked gate. The ponds open at 7am or 7.30am but last entry moves by nearly six and a half hours across the year.
The 2026 to 2027 schedule, as published, with last entry in bold:
15 Feb to 28 Mar, open 7am, last entry 2pm
29 Mar to 11 Apr, open 7am, last entry 4.15pm
12 Apr to 25 Apr, open 7am, last entry 6.15pm
26 Apr to 9 May, open 7am, last entry 7.15pm
10 May to 15 Aug, open 7am, last entry 8.15pm
16 Aug to 29 Aug, open 7am, last entry 7.15pm
30 Aug to 12 Sep, open 7am, last entry 6.45pm
13 Sep to 10 Oct, open 7am, last entry 5.45pm
11 Oct to 24 Oct, open 7.30am, last entry 4.45pm
25 Oct to 21 Nov, open 7am, last entry 2pm
22 Nov to 13 Feb, open 7.30am, last entry 2.30pm
The sharp edge is 25 October, when last entry drops from 4.45pm to 2pm overnight. That is two and three quarter hours gone in a single day, and it is the change most likely to ruin an after-work swim.
In every period you must be out of the water 15 minutes after last entry and out of the facility 30 minutes after it.
Booking only applies in high summer
Bookable sessions run from late May to early September. Every session outside that window is drop-in.
Bookable tickets go online in advance and sell out quickly in good weather. Drop-in sessions keep all their tickets for people who turn up.
Two things worth knowing about a session that looks full: if a bookable session is not fully booked, walk-ins are admitted, and where one is listed as fully booked, staff decide on the day. Their own wording is that you should not rely on being let in.
In summer the ponds also run session times, with a Morning Drop-in from 7am to 11am.
What the water actually does across a year
From the published weekly record, taking the Men’s Pond as the warmest and the Mixed as the coldest:
Late February is the floor, at 7°C in the Men’s Pond and 6°C in the Ladies’.
Mid-April is around 11 to 12°C.
Late June to mid-July is the peak, reaching 26°C in the Men’s Pond on 29 June.
By 5 October it is back to 16 or 17°C.
One detail in the data worth noting: the Men’s Pond shows no reading at all from mid-March to early April 2026, while the other two were measured throughout. Temperatures are also displayed at each facility, and the Heath runs a swimming mailing list for closures.
How to plan it
Warmest water: the Highgate Men’s Pond, consistently a degree or two above the Mixed Pond.
Swimming in winter: the Ladies’ or Men’s Pond, because the Mixed Pond shuts outside April to October.
Middle of a summer day: the ponds at £5.00, which undercuts the lido’s £8.80.
Buying a season ticket: six months is nearly as good as twelve, since the annual saves only £9.
After work in autumn: go before 25 October, when last entry falls from 4.45pm to 2pm.
Paying: card only since 1 October 2026.
Hampstead Heath Bathing Ponds
- Address
- Hampstead Heath, London NW3 and N6
- Nearest
- Hampstead Heath and Gospel Oak for the Mixed Pond and Ladies’ Pond, Highgate for the Men’s Pond
- Hours
- Kenwood Ladies’ Pond and Highgate Men’s Pond open all year. Hampstead Mixed Pond April to October only. Opening 7am or 7.30am, with last entry moving between 2pm in midwinter and 8.15pm in high summer across eleven published periods
- Booking
- Pay on entry outside the summer. Bookable sessions run late May to early September and sell out quickly. Cashless only since 1 October 2026
- Price
- Adult 5 pounds, concession and under 16s 3 pounds, all year round with no session pricing. Season tickets 83 pounds for six months and 157 for twelve. Valid to 31 March 2027
- Standing
- Three natural bathing ponds on Hampstead Heath, two of them single sex and open every month of the year
How to get in
The Highgate Men’s Pond runs warmest and the Hampstead Mixed Pond coldest, by one to two degrees in the City of London’s own weekly records. At 5 pounds flat the ponds undercut Parliament Hill Lido’s 8.80 midday rate. Last entry drops from 4.45pm to 2pm on 25 October.
Where to go next
Parliament Hill Lido is the 60-metre pool on the same Heath, with a winter sauna and session pricing in summer.
The lidos page compares the rest of London’s outdoor pools, and Hampstead Heath covers the ground around them.
Questions we get asked
How much are the Hampstead Heath ponds?
£5.00 for an adult and £3.00 for a concession or under 16, all year round with no session pricing. Prices are valid to 31 March 2027. Season tickets are £83.00 for six months and £157.00 for twelve.
Which Hampstead pond is warmest?
The Highgate Men's Pond, according to the City of London's own weekly temperature records. It reached 26°C on 29 June 2026 when the Hampstead Mixed Pond was 24°C, and on 5 October it was 17°C against the Mixed Pond's 16°C. The Kenwood Ladies' Pond sits between the two.
Are the Hampstead Heath ponds open in winter?
The Kenwood Ladies' Pond and the Highgate Men's Pond are open all year round. The Hampstead Mixed Pond opens April to October only and is closed to public swimming at other times.
What time do the Hampstead ponds close?
It changes eleven times a year. Last entry runs from 8.15pm between 10 May and 15 August down to 2pm in late autumn and 2.30pm in midwinter. The sharpest change is on 25 October, when last entry drops from 4.45pm to 2pm. You must leave the water 15 minutes after last entry and the facility 30 minutes after.
Do you need to book the Hampstead Heath ponds?
Only between late May and early September, when bookable sessions are released online and sell out quickly. Outside that window every session is drop-in with payment on entry. If a bookable session is not full, walk-in swimmers are admitted anyway.
Are the ponds cheaper than Parliament Hill Lido?
In the middle of a summer day, yes, by £3.80: the ponds are £5.00 flat while the lido charges £8.80 for its Morning and Afternoon sessions. At breakfast and in the evening both cost £5.00.
Can you pay cash at the Hampstead Heath ponds?
No. Since 1 October 2026 the Heath swimming facilities take cashless payments only.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 266 in the guide.
Last checked 5 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
