Striding into the estuary for a sunset swim is one of the highlights of the festival. A stage unlike any other, the water provides the setting for some unforgettable festival moments. At high tide, dozens of people shake off the cobwebs with a brisk swim; at low tide, they benefit from the restorative powers of the estuary’s natural mud bath.
Each day at high tide the ladies from the Kenwood Ladies Pond Association will be running the Port Eliot Wild Swim down the River Tiddy. The Kenwood Ladies’ Pond on Hampstead Heath has been a women’s swimming pond since 1926. World famous for its history and idyllic setting, it has become a magnet for London residents and visitors alike. Margaret Dickinson (editor) is a year-round wild swimmer, documentary film-maker and writer who campaigned to save swimming on the Heath.