SECRET lakes, ponds and sea shores perfect for a refreshing dip are revealed in a new explorer’s guide to the countryside.

A group of women famed for bathing in a pond on Hampstead Heath in London have produced a book of their favourite walks where there is an ideal setting for a wild swim.

The Kenwood Ladies’ Pond Association has compiled Wild Swimming Walks with routes which are all accessible by train from London in mind.

Designed to encourage days out and mini breaks minus the car, the walks range in length and distance from a few miles to a full day out and are suitable for families and the intrepid adventurer.

Sussex trails from Winchelsea to Rye, Three Oaks to Hastings, Berwick to Seaford, Southease to Newhaven and Arundel to Littlehampton are included in a list of 28 stretching from Oxfordshire to Essex.

Detailed instructions and maps lead to secret lakes, river meadows and seaside beaches and are accompanied by illustrations, photographs and anecdotes.

Margaret Dickinson, editor of the book, said the walks were picked for the quality of swimming and to offer a variety of landscapes, landmarks and historical interest.

She said: “Our Sussex walks are romantic and beautiful, and take you through pretty countryside, woodland and past ruined castles.

"There are so many because Sussex offers some of the best walking country near London. East Sussex has beautiful stretches of undeveloped coast.

“The celebrated landscape of the South Downs is one of the attractions, above all the sheer white cliffs where the chalk ridge drops into the sea.

"On the Berwick to Seaford walk there are good views of the most famous of these cliffs, the Seven Sisters.

"You swim looking up at the first sister from the beach in Cuckmere Haven where, on calm days, the chalk beneath gives the sea a pale turquoise colour.

"But the very best view of the Seven Sisters comes afterwards as you climb the steep cliff path opposite to head for Seaford. I am drawn to Sussex as much for its variety and for a slightly eerie presence of the past.

"I don’t think I have ever done a Sussex walk which does not take you past some interesting visible history often quite unexpected like the Saxon Church of St Andrew-by-the-Ford or the ruined tide mill near Newhaven.”

  • Wild Swimming Walks: 28 lake, river and seaside days out by train from London by the Kenwood Ladies Pond Association was published on Monday by Wild Things Publishing and costs £14.99. Argus readers get 30% of the price of the book and free UK delivery in an exclusive offer costing £10.50 in total when they buy online at wildthingspublishing.com and enter ‘Argus’ as their coupon code.

FACTFILE 

THE Kenwood Ladies’ Pond on Hampstead Heath has been a swimming pond since 1926. It is the only pond on the Heath reserved solely for female swimming.

World famous for its history and idyllic setting, it has become a year-round magnet for London residents and visitors alike.

Walking remains a favourite outdoor activity in the UK and a survey found wild swimming is the trend for 2015. 

Editor of the book Margaret Dickinson is a year-round wild swimmer, documentary film-maker and writer who campaigned to save swimming on the Heath.