Being immersed in cold water is some people’s heaven and other people’s hell – but outdoor swimming is undoubtedly enjoying a revival, with architects across the UK busy restoring historic lidos and developing new ones.
IN 2006, the UK’s Outdoor Swimming Society had 300 members; last year, it had more than 200,000, adding impetus to reopening outdoor facilities that have often laid dormant for decades. It was the 1920s and 1930s that saw a lido-building boom, when despite the UK’s economic recession, councils poured resources into healthy, affordable outdoor recreation. While some lidos were simple, others featured grand art deco and modernist buildings that were a source of civic pride. At their height there were more than 300 lidos in the UK, including 68 in London, but by the 1990s, twothirds had closed.
Bristol Lido Bristol Lido in Clifton is a Grade II* Victorian lido, open from 1854 to 1990 and famous for becoming the first electrically heated pool in the UK in the 1930s. It reopened in 2008. Renovation architect Marshall & Kendon Client and project management Arne Ringner, The Glass Boat Company Original architect Pope, Bindon and Clark. Image Credit: Purplex Marketing
Architect Chris Romer-Lee from Studio Octopi, who runs the Future Lidos project supporting community campaigners or councils who want to open or reopen a facility, explains: ‘The Wolfenden Report of 1960 looked at sport in the UK and declared more swimming baths were required and that as a rule, these should be indoor – hence the rise of the leisure centre. Lidos gradually lost funding and with newly available cheap package holidays, lidos were used less and less’. While councils built around 4,500 leisure centres in the 60 years following the Wolfenden Report, outdoor lidos began to fade into history.
Saltdean Lido Saltdean in Brighton has a fine 1937 international style building, but closed in 1995 and was almost demolished to make way for flats. It is now Grade II* listed. The pool reopened in 2017 and the buildings completed in 2024. Renovation architect RH Partnership Architects Client Saltdean Lido CIC Bespoke curved steel-framed windows Crittall Windows Original architect Richard WH Jones. Image Credit: Richard Hammond/Europa Nostra
Then came the 2012 Olympics, when the public were wowed by the spectacle of openwater swimming in Hyde Park’s Serpentine Lake, followed by the pandemic. ‘People couldn’t go to the leisure centre for a swim so they were looking elsewhere and found the rivers, reservoirs and the remaining lidos. Being together in the water is a bit like being in a pub: it acts as a tonic,’ says Romer-Lee. Mark Ling, chairman of the dedicated team behind the imminent reopening of Ipswich’s grand modernist lido, Broomhill Pool, agrees: ‘Lidos are having a real renaissance. Since Covid, outside pursuits like outdoor swimming have grown, as people have realised the mental and physical health benefits.’
Cleveland Pools Cleveland Pools in Bath, now Grade II* listed, is one of oldest public pools in the country and the only surviving Georgian lido. It opened in 1815 and shut in 1978 before a £9.3m restoration in 2021. Client Cleveland Pools Trust Original architect John Pinch the Elder. Image Credit: Richard Hammond/Europa Nostra
Unsurprisingly, some of the first lidos to be resurrected were those with historic architecture. Sam Kendon, of Bristol-based architect Marshall & Kendon, completed two pre-Covid lido restorations. The first was Bristol Lido, a Victorian baths built in 1849. Closed in 1990, it looked set to be turned into flats. Kendon recalls: ‘It was in the middle of Clifton behind a wall and people had forgotten it was there. It came up for sale as it was a prime spot for housing, and the planning agent wrote that it wouldn’t be viable as a swimming pool and should be knocked down. But just before demolition, after a public outcry, it was given Grade II* listed status. It was tatty but all there.’ With the housing project off the table, a local restaurant company spent £3.5m on bringing it back into use – largely for members but with some visitor swims, with a luxurious feel and a top-quality restaurant.
Broomhill Pool Ipswich Broomhill Pool in Ipswich is a Grade II listed modernist building, built in 1938 with a 55-yard long, 15ft deep pool, five diving boards and a 700-seat grandstand, and closed in 2002. It is set to reopen in 2026. Renovation architect KLH Architects Client Broomhill Pool Trust Original design Edward McLauchlan, county borough engineer
‘The restaurant was needed to subsidise the pool, but actually the two benefit from each other and animate each other,’ says Kendon. Such was the project’s success, that the same team also took on the former Kings Meadow Ladies Baths in Reading, an Edwardian pool that opened in 1902 and closed in 1974. Grade II listed following a local campaign, the building reopened in 2017 as Thames Lido after a £3.5m restoration, and offers memberships plus visitor swims. ‘It’s not cheap to visit but it’s a very special place, and these lovely buildings had gone to wrack and ruin,’ says Kendon.
SeaLanes, Brighton SeaLanes is the UK’s first national open-water swimming centre, a brand new heated 50m, six-lane facility on Brighton seafront that opened in summer 2023. Technical architect Evolution Architects Client SeaLanes Brighton
Saltdean in Brighton was also saved after years of neglect, when locals leapt into action after developers planned to demolish the iconic 1937 International Style building and build 100 flats. It was quickly Grade II* listed and is now run by Saltdean Lido CIC with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England and Brighton & Hove City Council, enabling it to keep prices low. While the heated pool reopened in 2017, the £7.5m restoration of the historic building, by RH Partnership Architects, including bespoke curved steel-framed Crittall windows, completed this summer, transforming the decaying masterpiece into a vibrant community space providing funds to support the pool.
Jubilee Pool, Penzance Jubilee Pool in Penzance, Grade II listed, opened in the 1930s as a cold, seawater pool, but a 2020 refurbishment added geothermal heating, along with community facilities and extended the café. Penzance Council continues to support the project financially. Renovation architect ScottWhitbyStudio Client Jubilee Pool Penzance Original design Frank Latham, Penzance borough engineer. Image Credit: Penzance Council
Cleveland Pools in Bath is one of oldest public pools in the country and the only surviving Georgian lido. It opened in 1815 as a diversion of the river Avon after nude bathing was banned there, and its buildings, like a miniature Georgian crescent, are Grade II* listed. After visitor numbers dropped following the opening of a nearby leisure centre, it closed in 1978 and was converted into a fish farm, but unrelenting pressure from locals through the Cleveland Pools Trust led to a £9.3m restoration in 2021, largely funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The work won architect David Insall Associates a slew of accolades, including a prestigious 2023 European Heritage Europa Nostra Award, where judges praised the use of ‘green energy and a holistic approach to reinstate the site’s original function while adapting it to 21st-century standards’.
Hilsea Lido, Portsmouth Hilsea Lido in Portsmouth was built in 1935, and along with Broomhill was the deepest in the country at 15ft. It is now being fully refurbished, to reopen in 2025, but will be shallower as a deep concrete fill was needed to stop ground water pushing up the pool. Restoration architect Space & Place Client Portsmouth City Council Contractor Beard Original design Joseph Parking, Portsmouth city engineer
In Ipswich, the stunning Grade II listed modernist building at Broomhill Pool was also a victim of the council transferring funding to a new leisure centre. It opened in 1938 and featured a 55-yard long, 15ft deep pool with five diving boards and a 700-seat grandstand. It was even heated, at least until the boilers were ripped out for the war effort. It closed in 2002, but reopening is on target for 2026. ‘The reason it has taken 22 years is all about the funding,’ admits Mark Ling, chairman of the Broomhill Pool Trust. Finally, after many false starts, a £10m funding deal has been agreed between Ipswich Borough Council, Fusion Lifestyle, which will run the pool, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Plans by KLH Architects include a new gym, providing ongoing funding to support the pool. ‘This is Ipswich’s last modernist public building,” says Ling. “It’s very precious and much loved. It’s more than just a pool, it’s alive in everyone’s memories.”
Northcroft Lido, Newbury Northcroft Lido in Newbury, opened in 1870 and was unheated. After a £5.7m refurbishment in 2023, the 50m pool will be heated but open only in summer. It was made shallower to reduce the environmental impact. Renovation architect Space & Place Client West Berkshire Council
While nostalgia might be fuelling some lido refurbishments, there are also new ventures that demonstrate the growing importance of outdoor swimming. SeaLanes in Brighton is a heated 50m outdoor pool that opened in 2023, privately funded by a passionate group of Brighton-based businessmen who are open water swimming enthusiasts and raised £5m for the project. Initially the group was runnerup in a council competition to redevelop a run-down area of the seafront, between the historic Volk’s Electric Railway and the shore. Technical architect Bruce Warren, of Evolution Architects, explains: ‘The council held a competition in 2015 to redevelop this part of the seafront; it was won by someone proposing a luxury sea spa but it never went further than the concept stage, so SeaLanes was approached afterwards to see if that model was viable.’
Tarlair in Macduff Tarlair in Macduff is an art deco seawater pool from 1930, and disused since 1995. It now has Scottish Category A listed status and the pavilion is in the process of restoration, with the pools to follow. Project architect Studio Octopi Conservation architect Heritage Architecture Client Friends of Tarlair Community Group Original design John C Miller, Macduff Burgh surveyor. Image Credit: Ryan Mckenzie
Although it’s just five miles from Saltdean Lido, the clientele at SeaLanes is very different. ‘You can’t go there and splash about – it’s all lane swimming and most users are members,’ says Warren. ‘It’s the National Open Water Swimming Centre, designed for training open water swimmers.’ An essential part of SeaLane’s viability is the cluster of small business units on site, but securing permission wasn’t easy: ‘There were massive planning issues – the arches along the seafront are Grade II listed, there were height restrictions and sight lines to the sea, so the units could not be in a single mass. If it was just the swimming pool alone, it wouldn’t work, but the units generate income and the area is now busy even in the winter.’
Grange Lido, Grange-over-Sands Grange Lido, in Grange-over-Sands, is an art deco saltwater pool built in 1932 and Grade II listed. It is in the process of being restored in phases, with the buildings first, then a 25m pool and training pool will be added within the original 50m pool basin, which has been temporarily filled. Architect (for Save Grange Lido) Studio Octopi Client Save Grange Lido/ South Lakes District Council Community Group Original design Thomas Huddleston, district council engineer. Image Credit: Air Pixel Photography
One of the biggest questions in lido design is whether (and to what extent) pools should be heated. Bristol Lido is heated to 20-24°C, while Thames Lido is 24-26°C. Sam Kendon thinks it’s vital: ‘If you are going to spend a lot of money doing a place up and running it, you need to attract good numbers all year round, and to do that, you need to heat the pool. Whatever people say about the resurgence of cold water swimming, it is relatively small numbers.’ While these pools have gas heating, Bristol has an array of 720 evacuated solar tubes on the roof, which heats the pool through late spring and summer – a system that is being fitted at Thames Lido as well. Structural insulation and floating pool covers help to keep heat in, and the Reading pool has a hydropower unit on a nearby weir.
East London Baths, London One of Studio Octopi’s designs for a floating pool on the river Thames – the East London Baths that could be sited along the Royal Docks. When the Tideway sewer is completed, the water should be safe for swimming. Image Credit: Studio Octopi/Picture Plane
SeaLanes is heated to 15-19°C – summer sea temperature in the UK – which was necessary given that swimmers will be training for hours at a time. ‘It’s heated with gas-fired boilers at present – it was the only viable way,’ says Bruce Warren. ‘There was a lot of work done exploring alternative heating but it wasn’t possible to get the required output. The pool is 50m long and 12m wide, and when it’s cold and the wind is howling across the pool it loses heat tremendously fast and needs a lot of input even to keep it to 15°C. Solar thermal panels make a small contribution, but heat pumps generate heat at a much lower temperature and wouldn’t do the job.’
Kastrup Sea Bath, Copenhagen Kastrup Sea Bath in Copenhagen offers free, accessible entry to the sea, with a wooden pier, diving platform, sheltered bathing area, changing rooms, toilets and seating. The project is one of many such facilities in Scandinavia. Architect White Arkitekter Client Tårnby Municipality Structural engineer Eckersley O’Callaghan Contractor AMEC Construction. Image Credit: Åke Eson Lindman
At Cleveland Pools, the decision was made to heat the water in spring and summer to capture the family market, while keeping it open for cold water swimming in winter. Efficient and sustainable water source heat pumps draw energy from the adjacent river Avon, which should give a balmy 28°C water temperature, similar to indoor pools. Sadly, a serious flood damaged the plant room in January, and forced the pool to close for repairs.
Penzance’s Grade II listed Jubilee Pool has also fitted sustainable heating. The triangular seawater pool, built in 1935 in cubist style, was damaged by a storm in 2014. It was rescued by locals who formed a charitable Community Benefit Society and raised £1.8m for a restoration by ScottWhitbyStudio that included heating one section, enabling it to open all year. The pool reopened in 2020 with a 410m geothermal well, expected to heat the pool to 28-35°C with a tiny carbon footprint. The system operated by extracting warm water from the well, taking heat out using heat pumps and distributing it to the pool via a heat exchanger, before re-injecting the cooler water back into the ground. However, in January 2024, the pool closed for the rest of the winter. Nicola Murdoch, chief executive of the pool, announced that the geothermal system was not as efficient as they had hoped. ‘The risk that comes with using innovative technologies and being the first of its kind in the country is it is not necessarily going to work as it might look like it is going to on paper. It’s cost us more than we anticipated in terms of running costs.’
Tooting Bec Lido, London Tooting Bec Lido was the first purpose-built open air baths in London, opened in 1906. Its iconic coloured cubicle doors date from the 1930s, and were retained in Wandsworth Council’s £4m 2023 refurbishment. Architect WR-AP Client Wandsworth Council Original design H J Marten, district surveyor for Wandsworth. Image Credit: Wandsworth Council
Other developers are sticking with cold water. Hilsea Lido in Portsmouth was built in 1935 and is now being refurbished, with new changing rooms and facilities, by architect Space & Place – but will be unheated and open only in summer. ‘The biggest dilemma is to heat or not to heat,’ says Nic Bryant, associate director at Space & Place, which also renovated London Fields Lido in Hackney that is now heated to 24°C and attracts more than a quarter of a million swimmers annually.
The 1932 lido had been closed for 18 years, and was so neglected that a tree was growing in the pool tank, when Space & Place brought it back to life. ‘Originally, we had intended to put an inflatable roof over it in the cold weather but swimmers didn’t want that; they like to swim in the open even in the cold weather,’ adds Bryant. The company has also just completed work on Northcroft Lido in Newbury, which first opened in 1870. Originally unheated, the pool will now be heated but open only in summer, and with the depth reduced from 2.8m to 1.58m to reduce the environmental impact.
Valentine’s Park Lido, Redbridge, London Redbridge Council is moving forward with a £4m new lido in Valentine’s Park in Redbridge to open in 2025, close to where an earlier facility closed in 1995. The 25m heated pool will have a café, splash pad and dance studio. Architect Wake Morley Architects Client Redbridge Council. Image Credit: Medway Council
While many argue that heating is essential for footfall, The Strand Pool in Gillingham is a huge tourist attraction, despite working on the same system in did when it opened in 1896 – cold saltwater from the tidal river (albeit with some updated filtration). With up to 800 people a day visiting during its summer opening, it proves that unheated pools can be viable. The Grade II listed Lymington Sea Water Baths is even older, from 1833, and is hugely popular despite its unheated, chlorinated sea water.
Chris Romer-Lee of Studio Octopi is a huge fan of cold water swimming and author of Sea Pools (Batsford, £25) extolling the virtues of 66 of the most beautiful saltwater pools around the world, including Mousehole Rock Pool in Cornwall that was built by the local community in 1970 for less than £1,000. He has worked on a long list of outdoor pools, including Tarlair, near Aberdeen, where a Category A listed 1930s art deco pavilion that closed in 1996 is being repaired, as the first stage of bringing the tide-replenished saltwater pools back into use. In a similar vein, he is working with Save Grange Lido to restore a 1930s Grade II listed art deco lido building at Grange-over-Sands – once an unheated, seawater pool, tide changes have meant this will now be filled with mains water and heated with solar and geothermal energy, with the pool made shallower to reduce heating costs. In both cases the historic buildings are being restored before the pools, so their facilities will create income for the next stage.
Romer-Lee has also been striving for over a decade to introduce floating lidos to the River Thames, where the water would be filtered and held within a barge-like structure. ‘The idea of a floating lido on the Thames is still alive,’ he says. ‘Similar facilities exist in Zurich, Berlin and Copenhagen. Somewhere like Kingston, where the water is cleaner, you could already swim safely in an enclosed area. The tidal Thames is more complex, but the Tideway sewer will be in operation next year, which will improve the quality of water, so floating river water pools could happen soon.’
Simple structures facilitating access to harbours, estuaries and rivers are found across Scandinavia. For example, Kastrup Sea Bath, by White Arkitektur, has changing rooms, diving boards and sunbathing areas, all free to use. London director Michael Woodford notes: ‘The water temperature is not an issue – it is not particularly cold, very similar to the UK where sea swimming is still very popular. We have been contacted on several occasions about a sea bath in the UK. If councils across the UK were to install them, they would be very popular… maybe in Margate or Folkstone!’
But can councils afford it? Wandsworth Council has just spent £4m on reopening the 1906 Tooting Bec Lido, and Redbridge Council is forging ahead with a new lido in Valentine’s Park, heated with solar and heat pumps, 30 years after the previous one closed. But Waltham Forest Council has just scrapped its plan for a new open-air pool, a key pledge in Labour’s manifesto for the 2022 local elections, saying it could no longer afford the proposed £2m a year capital repayments.
‘The perception is that because councils can’t fill potholes they will never afford a lido,’ admits Romer-Lee, but believes the community benefits outweigh the cost – estimates suggest, for example, that two million UK children leave school unable to swim, and in the London black community 95% of adults and 80% of children cannot swim. ‘Yes, people may think that lidos cost a fortune, but consider the savings to the NHS through improvements to mental health and a safer community of people that have learned to swim. The return is actually astonishing.’
