OUTDOOR swimming pools have been able to reopen as the lockdown restrictions are eased, with many heading straight to the lido after months of them being closed.
It is well timed, as the UK is going through a mini heatwave with temperatures hitting 24C this week.
The first open air swimming pools were built in the mid-1800s.
However, they became a real trend in the 1930s when 169 of the outdoor pools were built by locals councils.
Scores of them closed in the 1990s due to cuts in funding, but thanks to local campaigners may were saved from demolition and millions have been spent over the last decade to bring them up to scratch.
If you fancy a dip this week, we’ve rounded up some of the best in the UK – although check before travelling as some may not be opening until the summer.
Stonehaven Open Air Pool, Aberdeen
Stonehaven Open Air Swimming Pool in Queen Elizabeth Park is an Olympic sized heated open air public pool.
Stonehaven is the the northernmost lido in the UK, and it opened in 1934.
Saltdean Lido, Brighton
Saltdean Lido in Brighton is an Art Deco lido designed by architect RWH Jones, with a separate paddling pool for younger swimmers.
The 40m pool is Grade II-listed lido, and it opened earlier this month after a £3m restoration project that lasted seven years.
Sandford Parks Lido, Cheltenham
Sandford Parks Lido was opened in 1935 and it can be found in the centre of leafy Cheltenham, in the landscaped grounds of Sandford Park.
As well as the heated 50m pool, there is also a children’s’ pool and paddling pool heated to over 21C.
Jubilee Pool, Cornwall
The Jubilee Pool in Penzance is a saltwater tidal pool that was built upon a traditional bathing spot at the Battery Rocks near the harbour in 1935.
The Art Deco pool has been designed in a triangular shape with gentle curves, so that it conforms with the seaside surroundings.
Last year, they opened the first geothermal heated lido in the UK with temperatures around 35C.
Brockwell Lido, South London
Brockwell Lido in Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, first opened in July 1937, and is almost identical to Victoria Park lido in east London.
The 50m Art Deco pool closed in 1990, but locals ran a successful campaign to have it reopened in 1994 and it has stayed opened ever since, and can now boast a Grade II-listing.
Pells Pool, Lewes, East Sussex
Pells Pool in Lewes, East Sussex, was built in 1860 making it the oldest freshwater outdoor public swimming baths in the UK.
The swimming pool was originally built to save the modesty of local mill workers, who used to swim naked in the local mill pond after work.
Bude Sea Pool, Cornwall
Bude Sea Pool is a partially man-made tidal swimming pool in the rocks at Summerleaze Beach in Bude, Cornwall.
In 1930, The Thynne family put up half the money to create the pool and its sunbathing terraces, and the volume of the water in the pool depends on how much sand the sea has washed in.
Lymington Sea Water Baths, Hampshire
The Lymington Open Air Sea Water Baths was built in 1833 and it is the oldest lido in the UK, as well as one of the largest.
The pool, which uses filtered and chlorinated seawater, reopened in 2010 following a renovation campaign by local people.
Tinside Lido, Plymouth
Tinside Pool is a 1935 Art Deco lido in Plymouth, next to Plymouth Sound.
The saltwater pool is only a fair-weather lido – open between May and September.
Droitwich Spa Lido, Worcestershire
The Droitwich Spa Lido in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, is one of the few remaining inland, open-air salt-water swimming pools in the UK.
The Lido was built in an Art Deco style and the pool is filled with diluted brine that is pumped from brine streams beneath the town.
It closed at the end of the 1990s but reopened In the summer of 2007 following campaigning by locals.
Clifton Lido, Bristol
The Clifton Lido in Bristol opened in around 1850, but after falling into disrepair the pool was closed in 1990.
It was saved from demolition and given Grade II listed building status in 1998 though and then taken over by a private company called the Bristol Glass Boat Company.
They resorted the pool and reopened it in 2008 along with a café and spa facilities, it is now available for public use but priority is given to club members.
Tooting Bec Lido, South London
Tooting Bec Lido in south London is the largest swimming pool by surface area in the UK at, 100 yards long and 33 yards wide.
The brightly-coloured changing room doors have made it a popular scene for fashion shoots and Brad Pitt's boxing "pool" scene in Snatch was filmed there.
Parliament Hill Lido, North London
Parliament Hill Lido can be found in Parliament Hill Fields on Hampstead Heath, north London,. With the doors open 12 months a year.
The unheated open air swimming pool first opened in 1938, with beautiful Art Deco architecture that is now Grade II listed.
Jesus Green Lido, Cambridge
Jesus Green Swimming Pool, on Jesus Green in Cambridge, first opened in 1923.
The lido is 15 yards wide and 100 years long, making it one of the longest outdoor swimming pools in Europe, and it was designed like that so it could mimic the flow of a river.
London is home to some of the best lidos, with Kings Cross Pond and hamps Mixed Pond also popular with locals.
Thankfully, non-swimmers can also enjoy the heat with some of the most stunning beauty spots around the country.
From April 12, pub gardens will be able to reopen – here are the best pubs with huge gardens to visit next month.
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