We've recently discovered lidos. You don't really come across the word lido much, do you? Especially these days. It means "public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun or participate in water sports" (Wikipedia).
To me it's an old-fashioned word; it evokes the "olden days", and reminds me of my parents' nostalgic tales of visiting English holiday resorts whose lidos were huge swimming pools built in the sea. In the 1950's and 60's, these places were heaving. I had no idea that lidos still existed, but in the last month I've been told about two which are practically on my doorstep! And there are plenty more throughout the UK (see UK Lidos).
A few weeks ago my husband took B. to Ruislip Lido. It's a beautiful site, with a huge lake (actually a former canal reservoir), a beach, a children's playground and a miniature railway. Sadly you can no longer swim in the reservoir, but there were enough fun things to keep B. happy for half a day. The train ride was a great hit; apparently she didn't stop grinning for the whole time she was on it. And she loves building sandcastles; the fact that she was on the beach, by the sea, (ok reservoir, but she didn't know that!), meant that as far as she was concerned she'd been to the seaside. And when you live in London, to be able to drive to the seaside in half an hour really isn't bad!
Our other local lido is in Finchley. Formerly a 165ft x 80ft outdoor pool with fountains and roman columns, Finchley Lido is now a leisure centre with a complex of indoor pools and a smaller outside pool area. It's set in a popular cinema and restaurant complex off the North Circular, and so also has the makings of a good family day out, (although a different one to the Ruislip experience).
The indoor pool area is bright, warm and inviting. There's a large adult swimming pool, which of course you don't get to try out if it's just you and your child, but it looked good! The children's pool is great fun. The water is lovely and warm, it slopes gradually from no depth at all to around four feet, so it's very easy to get the kids in and out, and there are fountains and a wave machine! Even though we were there during the summer holidays, the pool wasn't uncomfortably crowded, and we managed to do a fair amount of splashing around, playing (and singing too!)
It was B. who spotted that the outdoor pool area was open, and it was she who suggested trying it out. My first reaction was to discourage her enthusiasm; because although it was summer, the weather on this day was veering from slightly cold and windy to rainy. She's not easy to discourage at the best of times. But then I thought, "why not? It'll be fun for us to experience an outdoor swimming pool in London" - it's not often that we get the chance! Well, the outdoor pools aren't heated, so needless to say, it was cold. Watching B.'s face as we tried to adjust to the temperature, I could clearly see the battle that was going on inside her; she stubbornly wanted to stay in the pool, because pools are fun and it's what her two-year old brain was telling her she should do; - yet she also desperately wanted to cry, because she was starting to shiver and feel like an ice cube. We persevered for a while, then decided to return to the welcoming heat inside.
Although nothing like the luxurious art-deco pool of yesteryear, I'm sure that it would be pleasant enough to spend a nice, sunny afternoon by these pools.
I think we both had quite a fun day. B. always loves going swimming, and I felt a sense of achievement at having been in an outdoor pool in the UK! We rounded off the day by visiting MacDonald's and watching the rain through the window...
I'm glad that I found out about lidos; - not that they're some well-kept secret, - but I feel sure that I'm not the only one who's surprised at their continued existence, particularly in this unpredictable climate of ours. It's lovely to know that we've got the option of outdoor swimming and bathing so close to home, and hopefully now that we know about them we'll be using them a whole lot more. At least we will if it stops raining...
No comments:
Post a Comment