_Coldbath_, Coldbath Square, Clerkenwell.—This bath, whence the name of Coldbath Fields comes, is upwards of 200 years old. Access is obtained to it by a steep narrow and dark staircase, that descends to a considerable depth below the level of the ground. The present bath was originally two baths, one for ladies, the other for gentlemen. They have been thrown into one, which is 7 yards square, lined with marble, 4½ feet deep, with a deeper longitudinal depression in the centre of what was formerly the men’s bath, making the depth there 5 feet, just as in the old Royal Bath. Above the marble, for about 3 feet, the wall is faced with Dutch tiles. Above this, on two sides, rises a whitewashed wall. On the other two sides runs a platform, with a railing at the edge next the bath. At the angle formed by the platform the railing is pierced to allow access down to the bath by means of marble steps. The ceiling is of wood, whitewashed, and is low. Two dim windows afford scanty illumination. There are two or three bathing boxes in the bath room, and there is a dressing room up a few steps, with benches to lay the clothes on. The water is very clear and cold, and is said to possess medicinal qualities from mineral impregnation. It is derived from a spring, and is constantly running into the bath from a lion’s head in clay. It is delightfully fresh and cold, but hardly large enough for swimming comfortably in, and its underground situation is a great drawback. _Camden Swimming Bath_, Hampshire Grove, Torriano Avenue.—This bath is about 20 yards long by 5 wide. It is lined throughout with plaster, and is accessible only from one end, where there are wooden steps down to the bottom. The walls, whitewashed, run sheer up from the bath on either side and at the other end. The depth is about five feet. At the entrance end is a platform and six quite open boxes like square church pews. The ceiling is on the double slope, whitewashed, and pierced by seven small skylights, which illuminate the bath but dimly. These are all the cold plunge baths London possesses. The three first are too small for swimming purposes, and the last, though long enough, is very narrow and decidedly mean in appearance. Being all under cover and some of them quite subterranean, the air feels chilly and cellar-like, and the great charm that all swimming in cold water should possess, namely, the accompaniments of pure fresh open air and sunlight, are sadly conspicuous by their absence in them all. All except the Camden bath are open all the year.