The Water Rats

During lockdown a motley crew of 10 strangers came together to swim clandestinely in the ponds on Hampstead Heath. Styling themselves The Water Rats, a great esprit de corps develops among the renegades. Of different ages, backgrounds and ethnicities, all are passionate about wild swimming. Civil disobedience has never looked so glamorous! The illicit venturing into the ponds is beautifully documented by photographer Jillian Edelstein, who has collaborated with film maker Greig Coetzee on this project.