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Guides Lidos 2027 Sat 1 May to Thu 30 September Updated 6 Sep 2026

London lidos and outdoor swimming: which pools open when

Most open at weekends from May and daily from June. Which are heated, which are cold, and which you can turn up to without booking.

An outdoor swimming pool on a summer day

The season starts in May, at weekends, and goes daily from June. That is the pattern for most of London’s outdoor pools, though each one confirms its own dates in the spring, and the heated ones increasingly stay open far later in the year than they used to.

The shape of the season

The Serpentine in Hyde Park opens weekends through May and then daily from June to September. Brockwell in Herne Hill runs weekends and bank holidays in May before opening properly for the summer. Finchley’s outdoor pool has opened in the second half of May. Check the pool itself before setting out in May, because a weekend-only opening is easy to get wrong.

Heated, or not

This is the question that decides whether May is pleasant or a dare. The Oasis in Covent Garden is the only heated public outdoor pool in central London and is open all year. Several of the bigger lidos are heated for the season. The rest, and all of the ponds and open water, are whatever the weather has made them.

Booking

Mixed, and it changes. Some pools sell timed slots online and fill on a hot weekend by the middle of the morning; others still work on turning up and queueing. If it is going to be a hot Saturday, assume you need to book.

Worth knowing

Tooting Bec is the oldest purpose-built open-air pool in London and one of the largest freshwater pools in the country, and it is unheated, which is the whole personality of the place. Most lidos have a cafe, and the good ones have somewhere to lie down afterwards.

Dates and events for 2027 go in as venues confirm them. The guide above is what we know so far; it is rewritten as the list fills.

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This guide is rewritten each year before the dates come round. For what is actually happening this week rather than what happens every year, the listings below are dated, checked against the venue and carry the venue's own link.

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Questions people ask

When do London lidos open?

Most open at weekends from May and daily from June to September. Each pool sets and confirms its own dates in the spring, so check before travelling in May.

Which London lidos are heated?

The Oasis in Covent Garden is the only heated public outdoor pool in central London and is open all year. Several of the larger lidos are heated through the season. The ponds and open water are not.

Do you have to book a lido?

It varies by pool and it changes. Some sell timed slots and fill by mid morning on a hot weekend; others are turn up and queue. Assume booking on a hot Saturday.

Which is the oldest lido in London?

Tooting Bec, the oldest purpose-built open-air pool in London and one of the largest freshwater pools in the country. It is unheated.

Can you swim outdoors in London in winter?

Yes. The Oasis is heated and open all year, and the Hampstead ponds and several lidos swim through the winter for people who want that.

Every listing on this page is checked against the venue's own page and the page is rewritten each year, usually six to eight weeks before the dates. Times and prices can change on the night; the venue link on each event is the one to trust. How we choose what goes in.