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London

Pool

Ayo Akinwolere

Ayo Akinwolere is a broadcaster and campaigner that until the age of 28 had never learnt to swim, the same year he set a world record in Open Water swimming. Since then, Ayo has made it his mission to get more people into the water as feels the power of connecting with nature and disconnecting is an important thing that everyone should be able to integrate into their day to day lives. His work in the space stems from his personal experiences and understanding that more needs to be done to make the sport inclusive.

Read on for his go to places to test the water, escape your everyday and float freely. Brought to you in partnership with 

 & Open Waters, helping people from all backgrounds navigate the water.

The tidal pool in Margate was my very first taste of freedom in the in the open water.
It offers a relatively controlled environment because it's obviously got sides to it. It was also the first moment I shared with swimming with other people. It's a really special place for me and one I go to just swim freely without any objective.

This was the place I hosted my first swimming related project, the Swim Challenge. It was so special to see people who weren't able to swim come and take on this swim with me with the help of the guys from Swimdem.

It's just a wonderful beach just off of a 30 mile stretch of Kent coast. And it's just a space of natural beauty with the chalk rock and this amazing keyhole that you can explore when the tides low. It's also a great place to swim no matter the time of the year.

This is my little London Getaway in south London. Its a really beautiful and one of the most underused pools in London I think- but I kind of like it that way. 

Charlton Lido

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