Cleveland Pools opens on 10 September

Get your free tickets to the opening of Cleveland Pools, a much-loved Georgian lido saved for future generations following a 20-year campaign.

Cleveland Pools in Bath will reopen to the public for swimming from Sunday 10 September, following its transformational restoration project. This much-loved Georgian lido was saved for future generations following a 20-year campaign led by passionate volunteers and supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

To celebrate this milestone, and also to mark Heritage Open Days, swimming will be free on Sunday 10 September. Spaces will need to be booked in advance. Tickets will be available to book on the Cleveland Pools website from 10am on Saturday 2 September. Tickets to swim will be available for three slots: 10am to 12 noon, 12 noon to 2pm and 2pm to 4pm.

The water is still currently unheated, but this still presents an exciting cold water prospect for swimmers in the South West. 

“A marathon swim, often against the tide”

Cleveland Pools in Bath first opened to the public in 1817. It held a significant place in the hearts of the people of Bath and the surrounding region for almost two centuries until it closed to the public in the 1980s. The project to save the Pools began in 2004 with the formation of the Cleveland Pools Trust, a group of committed volunteers who came together with a vision to restore the pools to their former glory and reopen them to the community of Bath.

As the project developed, it gained significant support from heritage organisations both in the city of Bath and at a national level. This included a £6.5 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund along with support from Historic England, Bath & North East Somerset Council, the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund, and WECA (West of England Combined Authority), as well as from individual donors, charitable trusts and foundations, and crowdfunding. 

“This has been a marathon swim, often against the tide, but the sheer determination of the local community as represented by the trustees, an army of volunteers, well-wishers, along with supporters such as the Heritage Fund, National Lottery players and our dedicated small number of staff has seen the project through,” said Chair of the Cleveland Pools Trust, Paul Simons. 

“The celebration last year marked the completion of the restoration works and now we can enter the operational phase in partnership with Fusion. The pontoon will shortly be delivered to site via the river, and the commissioning of the water source heat pump, funded by Salix Finance and assisted by WECA, will be complete.”

Fusion Lifestyle will run the Pools on a day-to-day basis. Keep an eye on the Cleveland Pools website for information about opening hours, swimming timetables and entry costs for 11 September onwards.

Photo: Anthony Brown