Tirzah Garwood Swimming Scene

Detail from 'The Four Seasons: winter, spring, summer, autumn', wood engraving by Tirzah Garwood (1927)

 

Tooting Bec Lido opens for 2025 summer season

Good to see Tooting Bec Lido open to the public again after the winter break. I have swum in various outdoor places throughout the winter, but this was the first time swimming this year with my face in the water. Had that 'swallowed an ice cream' headache, but soon recovered and was warmed up by the delicious falafels from the cafe.

Running at Camber Sands

The beach at Camber Sands stretches for around three miles in East Sussex and at low tide is also very wide.  It is edged by quite high sand dunes so if you want to add a challenge to your run you could try clambering up one, for instance from the path opposite the fine Owl pub in Camber. Alternatively there is level access on to the beach by the Camber Central car park.

Clamber up a sand dune to get to the beach

Early in the morning it was just me and a few pony riders on the beach, with the harder wetter sand of course being easiest to run on. Heading east there is more shingle on the beach as you pass over to Broomhill Sands. After a short stretch running on pebbles though there is a concrete path heading out of town with the sea on one side and the flat marshy landscape on the other. There are wind turbines on the horizon and as you head further out Dungeness nuclear power station can be seen in the distance.

The path continues for a couple of km, and actually goes on further but the path is blocked by a Ministry of Defence barrier - the is the Lydd firing range, still in use. So turning back my run from the middle of Camber to there and back was 7k (I could also have run on the beach in the other direction and there is a good path along the road heading out of Camber towards Rye - maybe next time).. I passed too the now empty Pontins holiday park, where I went on a family holiday as a child. It closed down in 2023.

Highlight of the run though was seeing my first swallow of the year, skimming the rocks along the coast path on the 11th April 2025.

A Camber mermaid

See also: Running at Dungeness