{"id":31026,"date":"2026-05-07T18:33:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T18:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/31026\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T18:33:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T18:33:59","slug":"this-last-of-its-kind-lido-near-london-will-soon-reopen-after-a-major-glow-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/31026\/","title":{"rendered":"This Last of its Kind Lido Near London Will Soon Reopen After a Major Glow Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

If an alfresco dip is your idea of a good time, you will have been swimming in good news lately. That\u2019s because lidos and coastal lagoons up and down the country are reopening for the summer months \u2013 and several have been getting upgrades galore.<\/p>\n

This month will see Portsmouth\u2019s Hilsea Lido reopen for the first time since 2022<\/a>\u00a0with a revamped pool and sauna. Portishead Open Air Pool<\/a>, too, has just\u00a0welcomed back swimmers\u00a0after a \u00a31.3m makeover.\u00a0Elsewhere, Worthing\u2019s art deco outdoor pool is gearing up for a huge \u00a34.5 million restoration<\/a> to stop it falling into the sea.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plus, Ramsgate Lido could be set for an epic comeback after half a century in disrepair. Non-profit organisation Heritage Lab Ramsgate said in February that it is in discussions with a developer interested in creating an outdoor swimming pool complex<\/a> at the site of its former Marina Bathing Pool.<\/p>\n

Plans are still in the early stages, so it\u2019s not clear if or when we can expect the project to come to life. In the meantime, though, another one of Kent\u2019s aquatic parks is about to reopen for the summer season, debuting some exciting new features.<\/p>\n

The Strand Lido and Leisure Park in Gillingham \u2013 which is the only riverside saltwater tidal swimming pool in England \u2013 underwent a major \u00a3250,000 refurb last year. The leisure complex, which includes an outdoor pool, six 25m lanes for swimming, a 300m lazy river, a caf\u00e9 and pool inflatable shop, is now also home to a shiny new beach-themed children\u2019s play zone complete with 30 sensor-activated waterjets. The new splash pad is designed for children aged between three and 11.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Gillingham
\nPhotograph: Jason Dodd Photos <\/p>\n

Welcoming back visitors from Saturday May 23, the Strand Park is also home to a miniature train ride, four newly refurbished tennis courts, an outdoor gym, riverside walks, a picnic area and access to the pebbled beach area.<\/p>\n

Ahead of its opening date, the Victorian lido will be filled with water from the river which is then chlorinated, vacuumed and swept, before a sample is sent to a microbiology lab for testing.<\/p>\n

The Strand pool first opened in 1896 and was officially recognised as being \u2018historically significant\u2019 after gaining membership to Historic Pools of Britain last year.<\/p>\n

Fancy a scenic dip? Here’s Time Out’s list of the 17 most spectacular outdoor swimming pools in the UK.<\/a><\/p>\n

Did you see the Sussex sister towns that are officially the best seaside destination in England in 2026<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Plus: the 11 sunniest beaches in the UK for summer 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stay in the loop:\u00a0sign up to our\u00a0free Time Out UK newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If an alfresco dip is your idea of a good time, you will have been swimming in good…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[248,27,249,247],"class_list":{"0":"post-31026","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-categories-things-to-do","9":"tag-london","10":"tag-news-city-life","11":"tag-things-to-do"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116534736526305125","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}