The sun’s out in London – hooray! But now it’s way too hot for any human being – boo! But fear not, because Spotless has come up with this list of awesome places to swim in the city. This lot should keep you nice and cool over the next month or two…

Chilling Outdoors

The London lido scene might only be properly popular for a couple of months in the year, but there are loads and loads of them. A firm favourite amongst outdoor swimmers is Brockwell Lido; a Grade II listed Art Deco construction that’s famous with South Londoners for its excellent community spirit. Tooting Bec is another historic lido in the south; the pool is 90 metres long, there’s a kids’ paddling pool and a café. What more could you want?! Up t’north of London, try out the newly-refurbished Parliament Hill Lido, or the neighbouring Hampstead Heath ponds. The lido at London fields is great too, as is the Serpentine, Hyde Park. For a full list of London lidos, check out this.

Plunges with a roof

If you prefer to swim with a roof over your head, there’s are endless leisure centres and pools all across London where you can take a cooling dip. If you’re looking for something a little special, check out Ironmonger Row Baths near Old Street (it’s got a great Turkish spa too), Camberwell Leisure Centre(the ceiling of this place is beautiful), or Golden Lane Leisure Centre, a rather natty rooftop pool on Fann Street.

Get Serious

London’s ultimate swim is, of course, the Thames itself. It’s probably going to cool you down a bit too much, although if you’re thrashing away in there for any amount of time, you’re likely to warm up. The Hampton Court Swim takes place on July 21, and sees strong swimmers travel 2.25 miles along the Thames to Kingston Bridge. That’s provided the water is over 11 degrees, otherwise the event will be called off. There’s still time to register. If you fancy yourself as the next David Walliams (swimming that is, not being a comedian), try your luck at Bridge to Bridge, the 14 kilometre challenge which goes from Henley-on-Thames to Marlow. It’s happening on August 11.