Built for everyone in 1937. Closed in 2009. Brought back, tile by tile, by the neighbours who decided their town should still have somewhere to jump in.

SINCE 1937

The tiled corner of an outdoor pool under a blue sky with green hedgesRead our storyOwn a share

Sixteen years empty. One summer to fill.

THE BIG FILL

Drag the line to see what a town can do with a padlocked pool. These photographs are illustrative and show two different pools.

The deep end, then and now

Leaves, cracked tiles and a chain on the gate. Then about two million litres of fresh water and a queue for the diving board.

Small town. Big pool.

THE LIDO IN NUMBERS

Illustrative figures for a fictional lido trust, to show how a real one could tell its story at a glance.

Six lanes of open-air water, warmed by the sun and a heat pump.

50m

The summer the gates first opened, and the date on our tiles.

1937

Neighbours who own a share of the pool, with one vote each.

1,800

For under-16s, every single day of the season.

£0

What’s in the water

Four ways into the same fifty metres. Pick a session, bring a towel and leave the rest to the lifeguards.

A swimmer in a white rubber cap resting her arms on a red life ring

Lane swimming

Early mornings and late evenings, with slow, medium and fast lanes. Nobody minds a breaststroke.

Family splash

Weekend afternoons with the floats out and the shallow end roped off for the smallest swimmers.

Learn to swim

Lessons for children, grown-ups who never learned and anyone who would like their confidence back.

Winter dips

Cold, clear and gloriously short. Weekend mornings from November, with tea at the kiosk afterwards.

Overheard at the deep end

Fictional swimmers on what the lido means to them. Photographs are illustrative.

Maureen

Early lanes, every weekday

“I swam my first width here in 1964. I swam my first length here last Tuesday, aged seventy-four. Never too late.”

An older man with grey hair swimming

Dev

Family splash regular

“My kids learned to swim in the same water I did. They have no idea how lucky they are, which is exactly right.”

A smiling swimmer in a cap and goggles at the edge of the water

Ana

Winter warden

“I came for the winter dip on a dare. I stayed for the people, the tea and the feeling afterwards.”

A swimmer in a blue cap resting her chin on her hands at the pool edge

One short email a month: water temperature, new sessions, volunteer days and the occasional photo of the dog who watches the early lanes.

One email a month. Unsubscribe any time. This sample form belongs to a fictional lido trust.

Lane notes

Rippling pool water over tiled lane linesSign me up