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London Fields Lido opened for "test swimming" on Sunday 22nd October having been closed since 1988.   The lido is due to open to the public at the end of October.   Andy Hoines, who co-edits the London section of www.lidos.org.uk, here records his experience.

This morning, my wife and I joined in the preview swim arranged for local organisations and swimming clubs.  Despite it being a grey and drizzly autumn morning, by 10am there was an enthusiastic throng awaiting entry, including one in slightly inappropriate Hawaiian shorts and T-shirt!  Others sported impressive swimming caps indicating that they were refugees from Tooting Bec, or were having a day off from swimming the channel!

With some nifty footwork, at 10:01, I managed to be the first to dive in!  Unfortunately, despite the deep end being 1.8m and sloping to 2.0m, this is not allowed and I also became the first to be told off by the lifeguards!

Mostly, this is a very impressive facility.  Retaining most of the original brick and pitched tile roof LCC buildings (partially rebuilt following wartime damage), has kept some period feel.  The cycle parking is secure and convenient, the entrance lobby is bright and airy and the entrance doors are more than high enough for my 6 foot 6 inch frame.  The reception area sells swimming equipment, as well as entry tickets, which is most useful when you forget some vital bit of gear, such as the cossie!  There are marked lanes, helpful to encourage the fitness and sporting swimmers that, in my opinion, are so vital to long term viability for open air pools.  

There are also lockers inside the pool compound, a thoughtful touch in an inner city location.  Most importantly, the 50m level deck pool with light blue tiles, is most impressive and the water was bright and clean.  The centre also has such mod cons as heated changing rooms, hot showers and disabled access of course.

A few minor negatives include the ban on diving, despite the pool meeting the required depth requirements.  One of the lifeguards also tried to evacuate the pool during a light shower!  This was soon aborted, however, when it was pointed out that there was no risk of lightning.  Fitting 8 lanes into a pool only 17m wide makes them a bit tight for lap swimming.  Finally, the changing rooms were a bit claustrophobic and lacked external windows to let fresh air in.

Unfortunately the water was too cool for the missus (who hails from the south of France) to partake, but the water temperature of 22C was perfect for me!

On the way out, we saw an ITV camera crew who were shooting a feature on Hackney being the worst place in the UK to live in!  This should be shown on London Tonight at 16:30 - I will tape it for the benefit of anyone living in other regions who may want to see it in the future.

The public opening date for the pool has still not been set, but should be within a couple of weeks.  The pool should then be open all winter and the admission price of £3 for adults is very good value for a major UK lido!

Happy winter swimming (when it finally arrives!), Andy