9 September 2024
This pool has been on my London “Aquatic Bucket List” since before I even moved here as my daughter Maia had swum here a few years back and told me about it. This is all-tile with flow-over gutters, 8 lane, HEATED, 50 meter pool is open year-round. It’s a bit of a trek for me, but I decided to finally make the time to drop in for an early evening swim after a day with clients in the city.
(click images to enlarge)
I wasn’t feeling all that peppy after racing yesterday so I mostly just stretched out and did some smooth swimming. I did a very light round of 3 x 400 with a gentle descend as the “main set,” but I only went 2,000 meters in total. Still, I couldn't speak properly after the swim ...
This is one of the best "swimmers pools" I have seen across the various lidos I have been to, and another example of an historic pool, once derelict and abandoned, restored to beauty. This pool originally opened in 1932, but then eventually closed for almost twenty years from 1988 until being re-opened in 2006. There was another reinvestment in 2017 which brought it to its current glory.
In addition to Maia telling me about this, I had seen a lot of love for this fine community asset both across various "best pools in London" lists and a variety of swimming-centric social media groups I follow. The love is warranted. With its colourful changing cubicles on deck (as well as indoor ones), an onsite cafe and this glorious pool all surrounded by great green space, it's a London treasure.
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