Aubin & Wills Blog

With a very sunny weekend nearly upon us, what better time to rediscover the almost-long-lost British tradition of a day out at the lido. This article from our Summer ‘11 Almanac editorial sums it up nicely.

Long Live Lidos!

Glorious open-air public pools were once a proud feature of Britain’s landscape. Sadly, few remain.

 ”It isn’t fair,” complained a long-suffering boyfriend, “other men have to see off love rivals – I have to compete against a swimming pool!”

It was true. I had fallen in love with a lido: Tooting Bec Lido, in south London. Its sheer size (100 x 33 yards), its kingfisher blue water, and its seaside-style cubicle doors had all seduced me.

Exploring the lido’s past, I discovered that it had been built in 1906 as a work scheme for unemployed men. Tooting was a pioneer: in the 1930s more lidos were built in Britain than in any other decade and nearly all were a means of providing work for the unemployed.

By the end of the Thirties there were at least 400 lidos and open-air pools in Britain. Today, only a quarter remain. The most imposing were to be found on the north-west coast: the South Shore Baths in Blackpool (1923) led the way and, vying for visitors of their own, Stockport, New Brighton and Morecambe

all competed on a grand-scale. Today not a trace of any of these giants remains.

This was the main reason I decided to write my book Liquid Assets - I wanted to record the existence of lidos like these before they had vanished from people’s memories.

Since Liquid Assets was published in 2005, four major lidos have undergone spectacular refurbishments: Clifton Pool in Bristol, Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire, London Fields Lido in east London and Uxbridge Lido in west London. And on the outskirts of Glasgow, Gourock Open-Air Pool, dramatically sited on the shores of the Firth of Clyde, is currently being given a £2m facelift.

As well as gains, there have, sadly, been losses: Hendy Pool in Carmarthenshire and Brynamman Pool in Dyfed, the last two outdoor pools in Wales, have both closed, as has Halesworth in Suffolk. Other pools remain on the brink: passionate campaigns are underway to save the 1930s’ Saltdean Lido in Brighton and Hilsea Lido in Portsmouth, while in Ipswich the fight goes on to restore the beautiful Art Deco Broomhill Pool.

With draconian local authority cuts looming, no council-run lido can consider itself safe. But open-air swimming is one of life’s simple pleasures: its sense of freedom, exhilaration and well-being make lidos objects of desire that deserve to be cherished.

Words by Janet Smith 

See more from our Summer ‘11 editorial here.