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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

114 replies

pinkmagic1 · 29/06/2019 20:53

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?

OP posts:
leckford · 30/06/2019 07:59

Most of the time they would be too cold to use.

MrsWombat · 30/06/2019 08:15

There is definitely a market for it. Every time the sun comes out the local faceache groups are full of people asking where the best outside pool or showing videos of the queues. We have a few within an hours drive of my area, and people are willing to drive there and queue for hours, which is bonkers in my opinion. From what I understand it's just to post instagram posts on sun loungers whilst the kids are mucking about elsewhere unsupervised! We do have a very local heated lido which is open all year around, and offers other activities such as a gym and classes which I guess helps to balance the books,. The regular outdoor swimming club must hate this time of year. A bit like January when the newbies all join the gym.

JohnMcCainsDeathStare · 30/06/2019 08:18

I'm in the Midlands I feel your pain. We live near a little outdoor pool the only work 30 miles (Kenilworth) that's in danger of shutting down.

However there is a swimming lake 30 mins from us that's open three days a week and a few spots on local rivers. I take my boys and supervise them in open water when it's warm to given them thr skills they need

Thing is you could swim in a safe lake (I. E black like access etc) even if it days no swimming but it it is private land it is risky plus they cos be liable if you drown.
In terms of rivers there is an Act of Parliament allowing you to swim in navigable waterways but again be aware of the risks. It is typically much easier to get in water than to get out if you are cold and tired.

Having said that I love outdoor swimming and have been able to find places near Stratford-upon-Avon which mean I don't have to go to the beach.
Also I do it from April to September (run out of evening daylight) and am only now considering getting a wetsuit.

TeuchterTraveller · 30/06/2019 08:19

We just swim in the sea and lochs, folk do it all year round with appropriate wetsuits etc.

callymarch · 30/06/2019 08:27

we have this lido about 10 mins away.

To think there is a severe lack of outdoor swimming venues in the UK?
BeckyWithTheSplitEnds · 30/06/2019 08:30

We live on a fucking island - we've got approximately 7723 miles of "outdoor swimming places". Get a wetsuit if you're a wuss - and get out there. North facing beaches have kinder currents.

BeckyWithTheSplitEnds · 30/06/2019 08:31

TeuchterTraveller Aaah... Balmedie in January - BRACING! Grin

AuditAngel · 30/06/2019 08:42

We have an open air pool in our town, open 365 days a year, heated. I’ve lived here for 12 years, never been as I don’t like swimming pools. One of the DC has been

Sparklingbrook · 30/06/2019 08:58

Apparently I am 68 miles from the nearest sea. Weston Super Mare. Ewww.

Lifecraft · 30/06/2019 09:13

Most of the time they would be too cold to use.

This nonsense has been trotted out loads of times on this thread. Our local outdoor pool is open from 1st May to end of Oct, and always has customers. Sure, there are more people using it in July and August, but plenty are using it for the full 6 months. Including me. The water is about 14c in May and Oct, so quite chilly, but perfectly doable. And no wet suits required, although some choose to wear them. It hit 23c last summer!

jennymanara · 30/06/2019 09:20

Lots in North London were closed down as there was so much smoking of weed at them. They were very popular.

NotAnotherJaffaCake · 30/06/2019 09:25

Our (bog standard state) primary school has a heated outdoor pool and it is used from May until August. It’s open to families who have passed the CPR course and it gets loads of use. It absolutely is possible to swim outdoors for large chunks of the year in the UK.

We used to have loads of lidos here but the Council built houses on them :(

maddening · 30/06/2019 09:35

I am in Cheshire and have 2 within 5 miles, one is a open swim lake and the other is an outdoor swimming pool free for public use in a country park.

ErrolTheDragon · 30/06/2019 09:42

I'm ~ 20 miles from the sea but it's St Anne's, which is pretty much useless for swimming. I suppose there may be some period in the tide where you wouldn't have to walk a heck of a long way to get to swimming depth, but I've never chanced on it.

The Fylde coast really ought to have lidos, I don't know if the st Anne's 'boats and balls' lake used to be one or was always a boating lake.

As it is, I can't think of any outdoors swimming locations in Lancashire (other than if you've fallen out of a dinghy on some of the reservoirs which have sailing clubs, you're not allowed to deliberately swim in any of them afaik)

Bugsymalonemumof2 · 30/06/2019 09:43

We have a few decent splashparks locally. Have a bad feeling the best one will end up closing because inconsiderate parents you can guarantee every hot day will either send their kids in with normal nappies or with food and breaks the pumps. Sad as it's lovely but it's privately run and must be costing a fortune in repairs

adaline · 30/06/2019 09:43

I also don't agree with people who say it's too cold for outdoor swimming in the UK.

As a child I used to live near an outdoor pool that was open from April 1st - September 30th and it was always absolutely packed.

Yes the summer months were busier (also due to school holidays) but it was never really empty. Of course there's the odd day where it's too miserable but generally it's fine - you don't need constant sunshine and blue skies to swim outdoors!

BarbaraofSevillle · 30/06/2019 09:58

Errol look up Capernwray, it's primarily a scuba facility, but open water swimmers use it too.

VivienneHolt · 30/06/2019 10:03

I totally agree. There isn’t a single one in the large city where I live! I like to swim outside even in very cold weather so I would use it all the time if we had one.

FrancisCrawford · 30/06/2019 10:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BarbaraofSevillle · 30/06/2019 10:19

But people do swim in those temperatures, with just a thin wetsuit.

The coldest I've dived in is 6 C and that was with a drysuit and hood and gloves and it was cold, but I'm not used to it like an experienced open water swimmer would be.

You don't just jump into a lake in winter and swim, you have to build up a tolerance and start in the warmer months. If you swim regularly as it cools down in the autumn and over winter (the water is actually coldest in February and March) I suppose you just get used to it gradually.

I suppose it is an interesting question though, why we don't really have a culture of swimming outdoors in the UK and it is seen as a niche activity or something only done in hot weather, unlike other, often colder countries, like Iceland mentioned above.

Soubriquet · 30/06/2019 10:20

There’s an outdoor pool about 20 min drive from me

They rely on volunteers when it gets drained to clean and prep the pool ready for the summer.

It’s just not cost effective. It wouldn’t be used 90% of the year as its raining and cold.

We also have two major rivers in town which are too popular when it comes to swimming in

We had a drowning last year but I’m guessing it still won’t stop kids this year

BarbaraofSevillle · 30/06/2019 10:20

Forgot to say that on the day I dived at 6 C, there were swimmers in thin wetsuits there too.

EBearhug · 30/06/2019 10:24

I have a friend who does ice swimming, where the water has to be below 5C, no wetsuits. It's very heavily supervised, though, because the cold does increase the risk. She says the endorphin rush after is like nothing else.

I remember back when I used to be a lifeguard, most drowning in British waters are down to the cold, because it causes hypothermia.

Swimming pools, even if unheated, are likely to be warmer than open water, because they're a contained body of water, so as it warms, it stays there (though filtration processes will mean there is some change of water,) and they're usually designed with light tiles that help reflect the daylight back into the water - and some are heated.

There used to be a lido here, but I think it's a roundabout these days, as the town has massively expanded since the lido's heyday in the mid 20th century.

JohnMcCainsDeathStare · 30/06/2019 10:24

The people most at risk of drowning in open water are dog walkers and anglers nor people deliberately swimming.
I think there should be an open water component to school swimming as part of survival too - you might not have a choice about open water swimming if you are unlucky.

Still a bit bitter about the 0 swimming provision at secondary school.

EBearhug · 30/06/2019 10:26

Iceland has a lot of geothermal activity - I think that often warms the water.

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