Deep dive: empty swimming venues during lockdown – in pictures
In the last of our lockdown diaries series, photographer David Levene visits some of his favourite swimming venues in London
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Charlton Lido, photographed while closed to the public during the England lockdown
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Another desolate scene at Charlton Lido
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David Levene: ‘I love swimming. I’m not fanatic or die-hard, but it is impossible for me to ignore the correlation that exists in my life between swimming and general levels of positivity and wellbeing. I find it hypnotic, meditative, and I’ll tend to have my best ideas and inspirations just after emerging from a pool’
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‘I also love the Better pools. It’s a godsend how many different swim facilities there are within reach of my home. I have about eight pools that I like best, so I’m always swimming in different places throughout the week’
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‘I’ve started swimming a fair bit at Charlton Lido recently. It’s the perfect place for me to wind down after a long day’
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‘Charlton Lido is usually on the quiet side when I swim there, which is lovely, but it was a real treat to see it in the midst of lockdown when it was bathed in such gorgeous winter light’
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‘I could not stop photographing the water that had begun to settle on top of the pool cover, lying almost mercury-like on the surface in soft puddles’
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‘The whole place had an almost desolate old-Americana feel, with its bold blues and greens, sharp lines and deep shadows’
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‘I popped into Ironmonger Row to do some photographs. I swim here regularly. It has a slightly odd length at 30.5m, which makes the maths a bit tricky when trying to work out how far I’ve swum’
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Staff have been keeping the temperature at the usual 29C (84F) during lockdown
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‘I always find this pool a bit on the cold side when I swim here, but the colder water does seem to sharpen up the stroke somehow’
Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian
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The West Reservoir Centre, a 23-acre open-water swimming and water sports lake in Stoke Newington, Hackney. The site, run by Better, has been closed to the public during the England coronavirus lockdown in November
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‘I am a pool swimmer really, but got on a mission during the first lockdown to embrace the open water. I had to: the West Reservoir swimming facility in Stoke Newington was the only place at which the public could swim immediately after the first lockdown before the pools opened up again’
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‘As summer turned to autumn, I had to drum up plenty of courage to submerge myself fully into the cold open water. But when lockdown was looming again a few weeks back, I knew I had to conquer colder swimming if I wanted to stand any chance of swimming in the winter’
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‘So I went and got myself a wetsuit, neoprene hat, gloves and booties. Fully kitted up, I made it just in time for my first cold-water dip (11.8C) before the second lockdown’
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‘The water is now considerably colder, but I’m planning to go back once pools open again’
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‘I’ve tried my best to make up for the current lack of swimming in my life, resorting to more bicycle time and plenty of yoga, but I cannot wait to get back to the pools and waters of London’
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‘I will try to keep up regular visits to open waters, but I’m not going to lie, I think it’s far more likely that later this week you’ll find me swimming up and down a lane inside a heated pool’
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Pools and open-water venues will reopen on 2 December. Happy swimming!
