Protesters form a chain around the Ladies Pond

• ONE sees why Highgate ponds need sufficient money for lifeguards, changing-room cleaning etc, (Link or swim! New Hampstead Heath pond fees protest, July 9).

But to attempt to introduce pre-booked “timed slots” and to forbid sitting around in the sun, as if the ponds were ordinary swimming pools, seems to misunderstand how these ponds have traditionally been used and what they mean to people who live in cramped urban accommodation.

When the ponds become suddenly crowded on hot days, that is because people who don’t usually swim there turn up, often with no idea of what they are allowed to wear.

They shriek when they jump into the water and fuss because it is so cold and are generally a nuisance to accustomed users!

Mightn’t it be simpler to make the pools membership only for the time being? (Pay-sub-by-instalment for those in financial difficulties.) Or just to shut the gates if and when a pond is getting too full for safety?

GILLIAN TINDALL,
NW5