A few weeks ago, I’ve decided to pick up open water long-distance swimming [30.07.2021 update: I’ve since completed several long-distance swimming events, but in my mind attempting the 10km Hever Castle Endurance event was the highlight so far, even though I dropped out after 6km]. This is why I started to check out open water swimming venues in and around London. I ended up at West Reservoir Centre in Stoke Newington. Open water swimming? Basically swimming. When I grew up in Germany, my buddies and I would always go wild swimming in rivers and lakes, often several times a week, twice a day during summer. My parents grew up in the Bavarian town of Passau, at the confluence of the mighty Danube, the Inn, and the Ilz rivers. When they were 10 or 11 years old, they swam across the Danube with their big brothers and sisters, zigzagging between the […]