At the Pond - Margaret Drabble, Esther Freud, Sophie Mackintosh, Ava Wong Davies, Nell Frizzell, Amy Key, Jessica J. Lee, So Mayer, Deborah Moggach, Nina Mingya Powles, Leanne Shapton, Lou Stoppard, S

Tucked away along a shady path towards the north-east edge of Hampstead Heath is a sign: Women Only. On a hot day, thousands of swimmers from eight to eighty-plus can be found waiting to take a dip before sunbathing in the adjoining meadow. This is the Kenwood Ladies’ Bathing Pond.Floating in the Pond’s silky waters, hidden by a canopy of trees, it’s easy to forget that you are in the middle of London.

As summer turns to autumn and then winter, the Pond is still visited by a large number of hardy regulars in high-vis hats, many of whom have been swimming here for decades.In these essay