Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning 320 hectares. This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling and hilly, embracing ponds, recent and ancient woodlands, a lido, playgrounds, and a training track, and it adjoins the former stately home of Kenwood House and its estate. The south-east part of the heath is Parliament Hill, from which the view over London is protected by law.
Brockwell Park is a 50.8 hectare park located south of Brixton, in Herne Hill and Tulse Hill in south London. It is bordered by the roads Brixton Water Lane, Norwood Road, Tulse Hill and Dulwich Road.
Brockwell Lido is a large lido in Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, London. It opened in July 1937, closed in 1990 and after a local campaign was re-opened in 1994. Two ex council employees Paddy and Casey took on the running of the Lido for the community. Lambeth council gave Paddy & Casey a peppercorn lease rate from 1994–2001. Lambeth gave them a one-year extension in 2002 whilst a public consultation was held to decide on the longer term sustainable future of the Lido.
Parliament Hill is an area of open parkland in the south-east corner of Hampstead Heath in north-west London. The hill, which is 98 metres (322 ft) high, is notable for its views of the capital's skyline.
The London Aquatics Centre is an indoor facility with two 50-metre (164-foot) swimming pools and a 25-metre (82-foot) diving pool in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London. The centre, designed by architect Zaha Hadid as one of the main venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Paralympics, was used for the swimming, diving and synchronised swimming events. After significant modification, the centre opened to the public in March 2014.
Hampstead Heath Ponds are a series of some thirty bodies of water on or adjacent to Hampstead Heath, a vast open area of woodland and grassland in north London.
Winter swimming is the activity of swimming during the winter season, typically in outdoor locations or in unheated pools or lidos. In colder countries, it may be synonymous with ice swimming, when the water is frozen over. This requires either breaking the ice or entering where a spring prevents the formation of ice. It may also be simulated by a pool of water at 0 °C (32 °F), the temperature at which water freezes.
Jesus Green Swimming Pool is a lido situated on Jesus Green in Cambridge, England. Opened in 1923, it is one of the few remaining examples of the lidos built across the country in the 1920s — open air pools with space for activities other than swimming. Unusually, the pool is significantly longer than it is wide — this was a design idea to mimic swimming in the nearby river. It opens for public bathing every day from May to September each year, and remains open but operates reduced hours over the winter period.
Sandford Parks Lido is a Grade II Listed heated outdoor swimming pool in Cheltenham, England. The lido consists of a 50-metre main pool, a children's pool, and paddling pool. The main pool is heated to 24-26 °C and children's pool to 30 °C. The lido is open from March until October each year for the summer season (heated) and has been open from early November until early February over the winter for cold water swimming since 2021.
Tinside Lido is a 1935 Art Deco lido in the city of Plymouth in south-west England. It is sited beside Plymouth Sound and is overlooked by Plymouth Hoe and Smeaton's Tower. The lido is open in the summer months between May and September.
The Thames Lido, formerly known as the King's Meadow swimming pool, is an open-air swimming pool or lido located in King's Meadow in Reading, Berkshire. It was first opened to the public in 1903 as the Ladies Swimming Bath and is believed to be the oldest surviving outdoor municipal pool of a similar early Edwardian era. In August 2004, as a result of a campaign, the building was awarded Grade II listed building status. It re-opened in 2017 after three years of restoration.
The Uytengsu Aquatics Center is a 2,500-seat outdoor aquatics venue located on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, US. The facility features two pools: a long course pool, and a diving well with towers. The facility is the home pool for the USC Trojans swimming and diving teams.
Piscines Bernat Picornell is a swimming venue situated in the Olympic Ring in Montjuïc, Barcelona. The venue consists of three swimming pools: a 50m indoor pool, a 50m outdoor pool, and a pool for diving. It hosted the swimming events, synchronized swimming events, the water polo final, and the swimming part of the modern pentathlon event for the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Hilsea Lido is a freshwater lido at Hilsea, Portsmouth, England. The lido was closed for a number of years but reopened undergoing refurbishment under the control of Hilsea Lido Pool for the People.
The Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex is a leisure centre in Uxbridge, operated by Fusion Lifestyle on behalf of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The complex is centred on the Grade II listed outdoor swimming pool, known as Uxbridge Lido until 2010, when the newly built centre and refurbished pool were opened. A new indoor pool was built beside the lido as part of the redevelopment works, opening in February 2010, followed a day later by the outdoor pool.
Beccles Lido is an open-air pool at Puddingmoor, Beccles, Suffolk, on the banks of the River Waveney.
The golden age of lidos in the United Kingdom was in the 1930s, when outdoor swimming became popular, and 169 were built across the UK as recreational facilities by local councils. Many lidos closed when foreign holidays became less expensive, but those that remain have a dedicated following. The name Lido originated from the Lido di Venezia.
Grange Lido is an open-air 50 m sea-water swimming pool, or lido, in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, England. It opened in 1932 and closed in 1993, but campaigners are working to see it re-opened as a swimming pool. The lido is in Art Deco style, and is grade II listed.
Charlton Lido is a swimming pool and leisure centre in Hornfair Park, Charlton, southeast London.
