Swimming pools
London swimming pools we've liked
Swiss Cottage saga
If you grew up in North West London, you went swimming at Copthall or Swiss Cottage. London-RIP went to Swiss Cottage. There were two huge pools, Adelaide and Priory, sports halls and a cafe serving pasties and Bovril, which tasted nice if you'd just been swimming, but nasty if you weren't wet and cold. There was also a community centre called the Winchester nearby, places to play sports, and later, a market. Now? Guess what? Swiss Cottage is closed for redevelopment. Luckily, part of the site is going to be used for something London is desperately short of - luxury flats.
To be fair, the community centre has been given a new, rather posh
building on the site and the market has moved alongside the revamped
Hampstead Theatre. There is also going to be another swimming pool
there, apparently - two, in fact. But when you look at the site, with
the flats (£5 million penthouse, anyone?), you can't escape the feeling
that it's the leisure facilities that are going to be squeezed. This is
a controversial development and it affects more than the immediate
area. London-RIP thinks it's very much a matter of wait and see.
RIP Finchley Lido: the great outdoors
Maybe it'll all end up a mixed bag like Finchley Lido. London once had many outdoor pools and in a way it's surprising how many survive, considering the lousy weather. Yeah, we know they swam outside all the time in the 1930s, but they were made of stronger stuff then. Still, Finchley Lido was fantastic. A state-of-the-art, white and blue Art Deco wonder, with fountains and what seemed like acres of real grass to sit on. During those few very hot summers in the 70s, London-RIP spent many blissful weeks there lying on the parched grass and turning a glowing shade of red instead of going to school.
The pool closed in 1992. Apparently, it had become quite run-down and a string of bad summers can't have helped. The site, which was huge, is now a Warner Village, with cinema, bowling etc. At least it's still something people can enjoy and not flats. There are two pools there, an indoor and outdoor, but compared to the glories of the Lido? Sorry, but they're mere puddles. Puddles.
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Swimming pool/sports venue you loved?
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| Message: | 7/7 |
| Date and time: | 02/08/2010 at 00:34:59 |
| Sender: | cindy |
| I used to frequent the Porchester Road baths at the top of Queensway, they used to have those old wooden cabin changing rooms around the edge and some big old wooden mirrors with a shelf where people used to comb their hair and leave their fag on the edge. One day , in the 1980's I was driving past (and in the days when you could park!) noticed they were doing it up and there was a skip outside, and Lo and behold there was one of those mirrors chucked in. I took that mirror. It's still in my bedroom - complete with fag burns! Havent been back to the pool since - but I remember they also had fab Turkish Baths, where you were given your own little 'bedroom' to change in complete with old furniture - is that still there? | |
| Message: | 6/7 |
| Date and time: | 22/05/2010 at 19:33:21 |
| Sender: | Rich N |
| Does anyone have any memories of a place in Fulham – I think it was called ‘Fulham Pools’ at the time, but maybe that turned into what is now the Virgin Active club? It was hugely popular for kids parties in the early 80s (shows age), featured a wave pool, diving pool, and a red water chute which went past a big fibreglass crocodile. There were also 4 big dome things in the pool, designed to hurt children, and a strange fountain thing. I also remember lots of strange architectural features such as the green air conditioning ducts, and these strange coloured balls hanging from the ceiling. I was looking for some pictures on the net to satisfy my curiosity, but have not found anything :( I'd love to know more, since I was really fond of the place. | |
| Message: | 5/7 |
| Date and time: | 14/02/2010 at 20:46:30 |
| Sender: | Nigel Richard Holland-Williams |
| What a wonderful place. Who remembers the two sunbathing pits, the cafe with the wooden floor, 4ft and 5ft chutes, the diving boards, even the Poplar trees that kept the wind at bay near the 6'6"end. We all used to rush out from the Hyde junior school to see what the temperature was. It was always written in chalk at the entrance. 59 and below was always too cold. The perfect temp always seemed to be 78. My fav part was the old fasioned concrete fountain situated outside the cafe and next to the mens changing room. Yellow seemed to be the main theme of the paintwork. Danny was the ever popular and seemingly larger than life , life saver. Always had a smile on his face and a friendly hello for everyone ! A fantastic place, fantastic memories but sadly no photos to be found anywhere ! | |
| Message: | 4/7 |
| Date and time: | 23/11/2009 at 16:18:38 |
| Sender: | Paul McKew |
| Actually the Priory was the deeper - just over 13 foot while the Adelaide, despite the high board was 12' 6". Any one know how high that board was? How about the Kingsbury Lido, Granville Road in Kilburn, and the pool at Kensal Rise with the old fashioned cubicles round the edge of the pool. Also, are the Seymour Baths still there in Marylebone? | |
| Message: | 3/7 |
| Date and time: | 11/10/2009 at 19:08:48 |
| Sender: | Kevin Green |
| re Swiss Cottage, There were actually 3 pools, the Adelaide and The Priory were the same length (the Adelaide was a foot deeper) and the smaller Belsize pool. (The Priory pool was covered over and used as badmington courts during the winter months). The new development is hideous! | |
| Message: | 2/7 |
| Date and time: | 28/09/2009 at 15:05:32 |
| Sender: | Sam |
| Hornsey Baths... And that insipid little school pool around the side of it. Mr Maynard did all the schools teaching, and as per the norm in the 80's, if you forgot your cossie, you swam in the nuddy. It was a horrible place - full of cockroaches. Now luxury flats I do believe? | |
| Message: | 1/7 |
| Date and time: | 22/08/2009 at 05:55:38 |
| Sender: | Susan |
| Does anyone remember the Fulham Baths? Very dingy, but clean. great place to learn to swim and the dangers of to much chlorine. My schoolmates and I would take the bus down North End Road with our headmaster and file into the baths for our swim lessons then catch the bus back freezing cold with wet hair and smelly bags of wet swimwear. | |
