Farewell to Seven Islands

Seven Islands swimming pool in Rotherhithe is due to close later in 2025 to make way for a new swimming pool/leisure centre at Canada Water. The new centre will no doubt have more up to date facilities than its predecessor but lets spare a moment for the fading grandeur of this 1960s classic.

Opened in 1965, it takes its name from a previous series of  ponds on/near to its current site. The pool itself is an unusual 33 metres long, so a bit more of a stretch than the standard 25m and very welcome if you are training. Southwark Aquatics Swimming Club have been based there for years.

There is a perspective on any pool that only the swimmer really sees underwater. In this case there is a sudden drop at the deep end, almost a cliff ledge, presumably at one time this depth would have enabled high board diving but no sign of that today

And let's not forget the magnificent tiling on outside of the building.

South London Running News (1): Summer 2013

A round up of running things going on round my way:

Your Pace no Race in Burgess Park

I took part in the 5k parkrun in Burgess Park (Camberwell/Walworth) last week, which like all UK parkruns takes place every Saturday at 9 am. Something slightly different coming up in the park next month though:

'Fancy a running event where no one comes last? Are you new to running and want an achievable goal? Not ready for a 5k or 10k race yet? "Your pace no race" is a running event were no one comes last. You can choose from two, three or four kilometre runs, with no timer, no top three prizes and no race numbers. Just you, your challenge distance and a fun, friendly, no pressure event.

Sunday 22 September 2013, 11am to 1pm. £5 entry for all distances Register on the day and arrive by 10.15am to pay and sign in. Free tshirt for all participant All events are wheelchair and pram friendly.

Southwark Park

Meanwhile elsewhere in Southwark, Rotherhithe's Southwark Park is re-emerging as a running venue with a new parkrun starting there on Saturday September 7th. I went for a run there today, nice flat course with tarmac path so should be good for those chasing a 5k PB.

This month London City Runners have started a weekly Thursday training night in the park (7 pm start) , using the nearby Seven Islands Leisure Centre to leave belongings. London City Runners was established in 2010 and has quickly grown to over 2000 members. The club currently train twice a week from Bermondsey Square, but due to restrictive space have been looking to expand the number of sessions they offer each week.

There's also a 10k fun run in the park on 12 October. Details from Southwark's RUN! London Activator David White (david.white@southwark.gov.uk)

Other Parkrun News

Bromley Parkrun are celebrating their 4th birthday on 31st August 2013, and will be running their usual course backwards - that is running in the opposite direction to normal, not actually running backwards!

My home Hillyfields Parkrun in Lewisham will be having its first birthday on 14th September with cake and prizes. They will also be reversing their normal direction so those dreaded uphill stretches will now be a doddle, and those downward slopes... well you do the math. Check their facebook page for updates on what's planned..

Athletic Clubs

There's lots of running clubs locally, most of which cater for all levels from beginners to elite runners (including in some cases international athletes). South London Clubs include:

- Croydon Harriers - based in South Norwood.
- Kent Athletic Club - based in Ladywell/Lewisham
- Dulwich Runners - have a 10k charity run coming up on 6th October, starting and finishing in Dulwich Park.
- Dulwich Park Runners
- Herne Hill Harriers - actually based in Tooting Bec, not Herne Hill.
- Beckenham Running Club
- Blackheath and Bromley Harriers
- Petts Wood Runners
- London City Runners. (see above)
- Clapham Runners
- South London Harriers - based in Coulsden, but also training at Crystal Palace
- Cambridge Harriers - based in Bexley, also train in Eltham

Birdwatching and running

Assuming you don't only run on a treadmill or track, running means spending a lot of time in the great outdoors. And that means that in your running you will encounter many birds, whether in city parks or rural wilderness. Of course you might not notice them as you focus on the ground in front of you, your time, your pain, or whatever you are listening to on your headphones, but they are there nonetheless.

I have never been a proper twitcher, but a time in the RSPB Young Ornithologists Club at primary school set me up for a lifetime appreciation of birdlife. And I think that does enrich my experience of being out and about running. In my regular parkrun in Hilly Fields I see the bright green ring-necked parakeets and, at this time of year, the swifts on summer holiday in South London from Africa (OK I tend to notice them more in the post-run state of mild euphoria than when I am chasing a 5k PB). I was delighted to see a beautiful goldfinch as I was on my way to the run last week.

Goldfinch

Running around Rotherhithe I see the waterfowl that live in the stretches of water that remain from the long-closed Surrey Docks - there are swans, ducks, coots, moorhen, and, on the nearby Thames, cormorants. I once saw a kingfisher by Surrey Docks Farm.

Running on holiday in Portugal I kept coming across a species of bird that is only found there and in Spain - the Iberian Azure-Winged Magpie. They fly and behave just like the magpies we see in this country, but as they look different I managed to break the lifetime habit of counting them ('One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, and a four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told').

Azure-winged magpie

Of course some birds are pretty good runners themselves. The roadrunner, found in the southern United States and Mexico, isn't quite as fast as its cartoon representation but can clock up speeds of 20 miles per hour. And if you should happen to come across an ostrich while running (unlikely in South London) don't bother trying to keep up. The fastest bird on land can reach speeds of up to 43 mph (70 km/h) - is using them as pacemakers the  secret of Kenyan running?!

Roadrunner

Update, 24 July 2013:  a 10k run this week taking in Dulwich Wood/Sydenham Hill Wood, a paradise of robins, blackbirds, wrens, great tits and best of all on my run a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Also saw a heron amongst the dragonflies on  a run along the canal between St Katharines Dock and Shadwell Basin.

11 August 2013: saw a Green Woodpecker while warming up for Richmond Park 10k today. 

26 August 2013 : running by the Thames at Purley, a flight of Canada geese alongside me just above the water

22 August 2014: I was buzzed by terns running near their nests of the Isle of Islay

26 October 2014: saw two Green Woodpeckers while running over Farthing Downs near Coulsdon.

Running at work by the River Thames

I went for a very pleasant run at lunchtime with a group of people from work. They run a couple of times a week, and are also preparing for the 5k Your Way event at Hackney Marshes in September. We have some great places to run near to work, today's 6k took in Southwark Park, King Stair's Gardens and various historic locations including the Angel pub on the River Thames and the Rotherhithe house where Jessica Mitford may have lived. All that and dodging the tourists under Tower Bridge.



Caryatid Statues in Southwark Park - they once adorned Rotherhithe Town Hall before World War 2 damage
(photo by Julesfoto)

It was the first time I'd done a lunchtime run at work and I wasn't sure how it would go. Well I knew the run would be fine, it was more the thought of returning to work afterwards. Usually after I've got my breath back I have a post-run feeling of deep relaxation which is not exactly consistent with being at work. I also had a potentially difficult meeting immediately after lunch, so wasn't sure whether I would be able to get back into the zone. As it turned out  my calmness and a quick shower carried me through nicely, though an afternoon of work soon put paid to that deep relaxation...