Secret Adventures: London Night Swim and Campfire Music

Last week I was invited by Secret Adventures to photograph a magical evening of night swimming, campfire treats and acoustic music in the heart of London. So, after finishing work for the day I headed over to the London Fields Lido where I met Madoc and the rest of the group for a swim in the heated outdoor pool. As you can imagine, being the middle of January it was absolutely freezing, even with the alleged heating of the water. But being the hardy adventurous types that we are, we jumped in and spent around half an hour enjoying the water in the rain.

Afterwards we jumped out of the water, got dressed in every warm layer we had and walked through the parkland, armed with a firepit and bags filled with all the ingredients of a wonderful campfire dinner from Foods Unearthed. We quickly lit the fire and began to pass around and consume the delicious breads, olives, pulled pork, camembert (yes, campfire dinners with SA are always this refined) chorizo and omelettes. All of this was washed down with wine and rum and then followed by gourmet fire roasted bananas filled with Nutella, peanut butter, marshmallows and some rum (because why not).

Once bellies were full we listened to beautiful acoustic music from Amy May Ellis which we watched completely entranced – this girl is seriously talented so I suggest you all go and listen to her here.

Despite the day starting out quite stressfully, with my main camera breaking and leaving me worrying over repair bills, the evening left me feeling relaxed and happy with a warm contentment that I am always left with after these wonderful little adventures. To find this kind of magic after a long day working in London is really quite something, it’s amazing what kind of experience can be created in just a couple of hours with such simplicity – our own little microadventure. So I strongly suggest you try this sometime, it’s seriously good for the soul.