This is an annotated list of swimming pools in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

which conform to the Olympic standard. Additionally, it lists other long-course facilities that do not quite come up to the full standard of 50 × 25 metres, 10 (middle 8 used) lanes. At the start of the 21st century, the provision of 50-metre swimming pools in the United Kingdom was very poor for a developed country. Few universities possessed 50-metre pools, and there was a marked reluctance on the part of municipal authorities to build new public long-course facilities. However, the successful bid to hold the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

added impetus to the development of new pools. A number of new venues were completed before and after the Games, although some existing pools were demolished and not replaced by 50-metre facilities. , no university in the UK possesses an Olympic standard pool, though several have an 8-lane 50-metre pool. The Aberdeen Aquatics Centre, being part funded by the University of Aberdeen, is the main pool facility for the university.

Olympic size pools

Planned or under construction

Other 50 metre pools

Planned or under construction/refurbishment

Other notable long-course pools

Open

Brockwell Lido Brockwell Lido is a large lido in Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, London. It opened in July 1937, closed in 1990 and after a local campaign was re-opened in 1994. Two ex council employees Paddy and Casey took on the running of the Lido for the com ...

– 160 ft (48.77 m) open air pool; opened in 1937, closed in 1990, and re-opened in 1994 *

Jesus Green Swimming Pool Jesus Green Swimming Pool is a lido situated on Jesus Green in Cambridge, England. Opened in 1923, it is one of the few remaining examples of the lidos built across the country in the 1920s — open air pools with space for activities other th ...

, Cambridge – open air pool *

Lymington Open Air Sea Water Baths The Lymington Open Air Sea Water Baths (or "historic Roman Seawater Baths") is a lifeguarded open air lido in Lymington, Hampshire, England. Built in 1833, it is the oldest lido in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

(Lymington Lido) – open air pool *

Parliament Hill Lido Parliament Hill Lido, located in Hampstead Heath, north London, is next to Gospel Oak railway station. The lido, also known as Hampstead Heath Lido, is a public unheated open air swimming pool, open for 12 months a year. It first opened in 1938. ...

(Hampstead Heath Lido) – unheated open air pool * Stonehaven Open Air Pool, Aberdeenshire – heated seawater open air pool *

Tooting Bec Lido Tooting Bec Lido is an open-air fresh water swimming pool in South London. It is the largest fresh water swimming pool by surface area in the United Kingdom, being 100 yards (91.44 m) long and 33 yards (30.18 m) wide. The Lido is on Tooting ...

– unheated open air pool * Yearsley Swimming Pool, York – indoor pool

Closed

* Derby Baths, Blackpool – 50 metres x 21 metres (8 lanes), with diving area and 1,800-seater viewing stadium. Opened in 1939 and closed in 1991. * Broomhill Pool, Ipswich – open air pool, plus diving pit. Subject of campaign to reopen. * Earls Court 1,

Earls Court Exhibition Centre Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, ...

. 60m x 30m pool, up to 4m deep. Opened 1937. A 750 tonne retractable floor in three sections covered the pool when not in use and is lowered using water hydraulic rams. Demolished along with the rest of the Exhibition site. Last filled with water (2,250,000 gals) as a feature for the

Ideal Home Show The Ideal Home Show (formerly called the Ideal Home Exhibition) is an annual event in London, England, held at Olympia . The show was devised by the ''Daily Mail'' newspaper in 1908 and continued to be run by the ''Daily Mail'' until 2009. It w ...

in 2011. Technical Manager Ray Simpson, who had maintained the pool since 1969, retired in July 2013. Earls Court has hosted both the 1948 and the 2012 Summer Olympics, but swimming was not held there on either occasion. The pool was most closely associated with the Earls Court Boat Show which was held annually from 1960 until 2003. * Gurnell Leisure Centre, Ealing. Opened 198
Closure of the centre
* Empire Pool, Wembley (now Wembley Arena). Venue for the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. *

Grange Lido Grange Lido is an open-air 50 m sea-water swimming pool, or lido, in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, England. It opened in 1932 and closed in 1993, but campaigners are working to see it re-opened as a swimming pool. The lido is in Art Deco style, and ...

, Cumbria. Open-air sea-water

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

50m pool, opened 1932, closed 1993, with an undecided future but a vigorous campaign for its reopening for swimming. *

Leeds International Pool The Leeds International Pool often referred to as the Leeds International Baths, was a swimming facility in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. The pool was situated at the lower end of Westgate and was notable for its brutalist architec ...

, Leeds – 50 metres, 8 lanes. Closed 21 October 2007; now demolished. * Murton Colliery Pool,

Murton, County Durham Murton is a village in County Durham, England. Lying east of the city of Durham and south of Sunderland, it has a population of 4,534, increasing to 7,676 at the 2011 Census. Originally a rural agricultural hamlet called Morton, the discov ...

– 50 metre open air pool, built in 1961, and closed in 1991 following the closure of the colliery; filled in. *

Wales Empire Pool The Wales Empire Pool, known locally as the Empire Pool, was an international standard swimming pool building, located in Cardiff, Wales from 1958 until it was demolished in 1998. It was a centrepiece for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealt ...

at Cardiff. Venue for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games; demolished in 1998 during construction of the Millennium Stadium. Replaced by the Cardiff International Pool. *

White City Stadium White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock ...

swimming pool. Venue for the 1908 Summer Olympics; site demolished in 1985. * Wigan International Pool,

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

– 50 metres, 8 lanes. Closed 21 September 2008, and subsequently demolished. Replaced by a 25 × 21 m pool at the Wigan Life Centre. * Coventry Central Baths, Coventry - 50 metres, 8 lanes. Closed 15 February 2020 and will be demolished. Replaced by new 50m pool at Alan Higgs Centre.

References

External links

About Olympic and 50 m Swimming pools in the UK and IrelandImages of Olympic Swimming Pools in the UKMap of all UK 50m pools from table above
{{Swimming in the United Kingdom Olympic-size swimming pools in the United Kingdom