A splash of hope amid the UK lido decline

On a scorching summer's day, Droitwich Spa Lido is packed with families cooling off in the sunshine. Sunbathers stretch out on towels, children splash in the water, and the smell of sun cream hangs in the warm air.

For generations, scenes like this were a familiar part of British summers. But today, they have become increasingly rare.

Once there were more than 300 public outdoor pools across the UK. Now, an estimated 125 remain, with Droitwich Spa's believed to be the last traditional public lido in the West Midlands.

Its success has shown the rest of the region – and the nation – that this early 20th Century tradition can still thrive.

More than 6,000 extra people visited in July compared with the same month last year, making it the busiest July since the pool reopened in 2007.

"As soon as the sun's out, you could be at a lido and mistake yourself for being in Spain," manager Seb Parker said. "It's a complete suntrap and a beautiful setting."

So why have lidos struggled to stay afloat?

"The reason that lidos went through that huge decline in the late 20th Century was because policy and funding shifted away from them."

That is the view of lido campaigner Deborah Aydon, who co-founded Future Lidos, a group that is dedicated to restoring heritage pools and creating new lidos.

"It's purely a financial issue. It wasn't about people not wanting to get in them."

Under Aydon's leadership, the group has given new life to pools from Brynaman in South Wales, Tynemouth on the Northumberland coast, and Tarlair in the far north of Scotland.

Future Lidos is also backing proposals for new city pools in Liverpool, Dublin and Cork.

Aydon said those that did remain open often did so because locals fought to save them.

"Where lidos survived the cull, it was always because of community demand and pressure.

"Either communities took the lidos into their own control, or they pressured councils to reopen or sustain their pools."

The cull Aydon mentioned has stretched across England's heartlands, even into recent years.

One of the highest-profile losses came in 2021, when the 125-year-old Kenilworth Lido closed despite a campaign to save it.

It joined a long list of lost lidos in the West Midlands, including Rowheath and Stechford Baths in Birmingham, Malvern Park in Solihull, Trentham Gardens Lido in Stoke-on-Trent, and Shrewsbury's Market Drayton Lido.

This has also been reflected further afield with the disappearance of Victoria Park and Tottenham Lido in London, The Knap Lido in Barry, Wales, and Grange-over-Sands Lido in Cumbria.

"When you look at the map [of remaining lidos], it looks like every other map of provision in this country, where you've got the affluent areas that have the provision and the less affluent areas that are lacking," Aydon said.

"It's to do with the muscle that communities had to put pressure on their local authorities and the funding that local authorities had."

So Droitwich's survival has not happened by chance.

Parker believes the lido has bucked the trend because it has adapted, while continuing to receive support from Wychavon District Council.

"We now stay open all year round, so we have added in cold water swimming, which attracts customers all through the winter," he said.

"We go down to four degrees in the water, and we're lucky that our local council support us as well.

"We're currently due to get a £12.5m refurb, starting in the new year.

"That'll be an extended cafe, beauticians, a bistro, and just things to draw people in so it's not just the swimming pool."

Aydon believes Droitwich's success reflects a wider shift in attitudes towards outdoor swimming.

"I think climate change is really coming home to roost and there has been a big rise in people wanting to swim outdoors," she said.

"There's huge passion around lidos, there's many campaigns wanting to restore them or create them.

"I really do think we're going to see another golden age of lidos."

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