Tinside Lido Plymouth

Tinside Lido is situated on the historic Plymouth Hoe in Plymouth, Devon. Built in 1935 this art deco Lido was fully restored in 2003, at the cost of £3.4 million, after some years of neglect had left the grade II listed building more of an eyesore than a landmark. It is an unheated, seawater (treated) swimming pool open to the public for just a few months in the summer season.

When I was a youngster I often swam at this pool either ...
...Plymouth Swimming club and have many happy memories. After the refurbishment I swore I would never swim there again, as, in my opinion too much money was spent on a pool that would only be open for a few months of the year when we have a dire shortage of decent indoor swimming pools in Plymouth. The place is really dependent on nice weather to get the crowds in and I’m sure it never makes enough to pay for itself and its upkeep.

So, ... more

Tinside Lido is situated on the historic Plymouth Hoe in Plymouth, Devon. Built in 1935 this art deco Lido was fully restored in 2003, at the cost of £3.4 million, after some years of neglect had left the grade II listed building more of an eyesore than a landmark. It is an unheated, seawater (treated) swimming pool open to the public for just a few months in the summer season.

When I was a youngster I often swam at this pool either with my family or under the supervision of Port Of Plymouth Swimming club and have many happy memories. After the refurbishment I swore I would never swim there again, as, in my opinion too much money was spent on a pool that would only be open for a few months of the year when we have a dire shortage of decent indoor swimming pools in Plymouth. The place is really dependent on nice weather to get the crowds in and I’m sure it never makes enough to pay for itself and its upkeep.

So, to my surprise I found myself agreeing to a swim there last summer! My daughter saw an advertisement for a Friday evening swim by floodlight and the admission was only £1.00. Would I go with her? It would depend upon the weather I replied hoping that she would forget or that the weather would be so diabolical that she wouldn’t want to go anyway! It was July, by the way, and the weather all that week had been exceptionally hot so by the Thursday I had actually agreed to go. You can guess what day the weather started to break down-yes the Friday, it wasn’t too bad but just not as hot as it had been. So, I packed my speedo wishing it was a wet suit and could feel the goose bumps before I had even left the house. Be under no illusion Plymouth Hoe on a calm hot day is lovely, but on a cool slightly breezy evening it is ok for a constitutional but for getting into a cold pool that’s another thing.

From the promenade you go down a few steps and enter a rather austere building slightly resembling a 1960s toilet block where inside there is a lift that will whisk you right down to the reception/pay desk on the bottom/pool level. From there you enter the changing rooms which be warned are unisex. There are plenty of individual, good size, changing cubicles here but you do need to remember not to leave the cubicle in a state of partial or semi dress due to the fact that there will be members of the opposite sex there! Lockers are 20p and non-refundable, but they did work and there were plenty of them. The showers, however, were one large communal affair and only slightly warmer than cold! It was all nice and clean in there though, so apart from the shower temperature pretty good facilities.

As for the swimming, from the changing room down the steps and you are at the shallow end of the pool which is of circular shape with a large fountain in the middle and two smaller ones in the shallow end. The pool gets gradually deeper once you get past the middle and at its deepest is about 2.2m. I notice this year a small blue kiddies slide has been installed in the shallow end also. That evening I slowly went down the few steps waiting for the coldness to bite but was pleasantly surprised to find it was really not too bad, or not as bad as I had anticipated. But, it was still taking me ages to “get under” so in the end I just ran into it and got straight under. I swam about in the deep end for about twenty minutes before I became aware that I couldn’t feel my extremities anymore! I don’t make a habit of wearing goggles but think they may be a good idea due to the saltiness of the water which made my eyes sting. So it was time for me to get out and truly I didn’t warm up properly for quite a few hours after that. It was a nice atmosphere in the evening there as it was gradually getting darker and darker whilst we were in there and when we left and looked down from above at the pool all lit up it did look most impressive. If you like to dive it is deep enough in the deep end to do this safely and if you like a long swim I would recommend a wet suit to ward off the cold. I believe that wet suits can be hired at the pool.

Further information
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If I haven’t put you off here is some more general information on the place.

Facilities-Sunbathing terrace (with loungers ), Vending machines, Inflatable fun sessions, three fountains, Swim shop.

Opening times- 26th May-9th September 2007
Weekdays 12-6pm
Weekends 10-6pm
Evenings Wednesdays and Fridays 7-8.30pm 22nd June-5th September

Prices-
Adults All Day £6.10 Session (2hrs) £3.45
Child All Day £4.05 Session £2.30
Senior Citizens All Day£3.65 Session £2.10
Family All Day £16.20 Session £9.25

Parking-
Nearest is at parking meters on the promenade above or a 10 minute walk to various public car parks nearby. Limited public transport but only a ten minute walk from the town centre.

Website http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/fdtinsidelido

To sum up I would recommend this pool for a nice warm, sunny day or evening and you can buy a ticket for all day if you like to lounge about as well as swim. If you do this remember to take your own picnic as there is no café facility, only vending machines. I would obviously not it recommend it in bad weather.

As a footnote it is now the last day of June and I have yet to see anyone swim in the pool this year. Is it any wonder as it is still raining here as I speak!!!!!!! Happy holidays. 

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