Cut into the rock shelf below the cliffs of King Edward Park in Newcastle, the Bogey Hole is one of the oldest ocean baths in the country, hewn by convicts in the 1820s for a colonial commandant. Waves break over its seaward wall at high tide, refreshing the pool, and swimmers share it with the surge of the Pacific in a setting of raw sandstone cliff and open sea. A heritage-listed curiosity and a much-loved local swim, it is bracing, atmospheric and unlike any groomed pool - the ocean let in just enough. Take care on the slippery edges when the swell is running.