To think there is a severe lack of outdoor swimming venues in the UK?

[pinkmagic1]

I love swimming but hate sweaty indoor pools.
Today we went to Rutland water which has a man made beach and an area, watched by a life guard where you can swim. It was absolutely heaving.
We travelled over 30 miles to get there as there are no such places near where we live. All the lidos have closed and there used to be a lake with similar facilities nearby when I was younger but these are long gone. The lake still allows open water swimming clubs which is great, but nothing for a family wanting to enjoy a day in the water. People do still swim there but they get in trouble if caught.
Aibu to wish there were more places for safe and permitted outdoor swimming?

they would only be used one week of the year tbh!

Yes, that would be lovely!

There was a 2-hour wait for Tooting Lido today.

Well, they’re heaving today and tomorrow but they won’t be on wet cold dreary days. That’s why there isn’t many.

I mean, everywhere nice and outdoors is busy when the weather is good.

There are two outdoor pools near me in north Herts which are fab we closed down so many in the 70s

Because they are still expensive to maintain and most of the year for most people it's too cold for people to want to use them...

I was not so much thinking of lidos as understand the cost implications of running them. Was more thinking of areas of clean lakes that could be utilised during the summer months.

The entire coast.
Almost every David Lloyd gym with a pool had an outdoor one too when I was a member.
Lidos are everywhere if you know where to look.
Fresh water/lake swimming is popular wherever there is water.
The Lake District

Next...

There's a brilliant splash pad near me. We waited til 3pm and it was still heaving but we stayed til 6pm when the water gets turned off.

It's be great to have more, especially as we pass at least three large parks to get there.

I always regret that I never made it to the lido in my home town before it was closed and "mysteriously" burned down. I didn't come from a swimming family though.

I love an outdoors swim, even better in a heated pool on a cool day or in the rain. There's a reason why Blue Lagoon is one of Iceland's top attractions. Bliss

Sadly heatwaves are normally accompanied by drownings of young people in open water.

Yes, Tallgreenbottle, but not everyone lives near the coast or can afford David Lloyd memberships. Also swimming in most lakes near me is forbidden.

Totally agree

They don’t need to be Benurs that ‘need to be used’

Just like the places we used to go when I was a kid in the ‘70 & 80’s. Places on the river, lakes, streams

We thought about the Lido today, but really wanted something more ‘natural’. There are plenty of rivers, streams and lakes but access is far too restricted these days

There used to be loads of lidos in north east London but they gradually all closed down. There's real appetite for some of them reopening though

There's a big campaign to enable this - but it really is the case that apart from triathlon people and open water swimmers, no one else goes apart from when its really hot.

Locally, I can go swimming in a lake in a lifeguarded session 5 days a week, but it costs to lifeguard and I pay £5 a time (and at some venues you also pay £10 a year membership)

If you like outdoor swimming, the OS society FB group is very active

Guess it depends where you live. There are 5 outdoor swimming venues (4 lakes and 1 pool) all supervised and safe to swim at that I can think of off the top of my head where I live. (South Yorkshire) All within an hours drive from home. I haven’t swum in an indoor pool for 3 years now. Even winter swam this year outside.

There used to be a lifeguard at a lake near me. Now there is no longer one and lots of no swimming notices have been put up instead.

There are quite a few outdoor swimming lakes near me. But I wouldn't use them because I don't want to catch something horrible. In all the years I have swum in a pool I have never, to my knowledge, caught anything. DS caught something horrible in a outdoor lake about 4 years ago, on a kayaking course. So disgusting as they are, I will stick to pools (indoor or outdoor).

Agree we need more outdoor (heated) pools though. Along with athletics tracks. If someone wins the Euromillions can they please endow a few?

I used to love New Brighton outdoor pool.

We've lost a few since my childhood in tje North West.

It pisses down with rain 98% of the year it's not worth it.

There’s a community outdoor heated pool in my village in Cumbria and another one in the next village. And there’s all the lakes too!

Move to the Lake District, we have loads of places for outdoor swimming & natural plunge pools. Perfect in this lovely weather 😆

There are plenty, they're usually called beaches.

Yanbu. Luckily there is a river near me that my family swim in but we are the only ones. People used to swim in it but it's fallen out of fashion and now others think we're mad.

There used to be several lidos and outdoor pools around here but they have all closed.

Swimming in the open is so much nicer than in an indoors chlorinated pool.

For this reason:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-44771872/just-don-t-go-in-water-safety-experts-advise

DS does open water swimming with a club, the water has to be 17 degrees before they are allowed to swim. That's with full wet suits.

@Whatelsecouldibecalled
Where can I find out more about these places?