People reflect on lido as it celebrates 90 years

Local residents and swimmers have been celebrating the 90th birthday of Peterborough Lido.

The Grade II-listed Art Deco outdoor pool opened on 28 May 1936 and it has survived several threats of closure - and even a World War Two bombing raid.

One of the people marking the anniversary is Pamela Cole, 92, who said: "It was our lifestyle, just after the war, when we used to come down regularly after school on a bicycle."

Swimmers can expect a weekend of special events, said Vivacity, which runs the lido, to celebrate the occasion.

The pool has been described as one of the city's "crown jewels" by residents.

It last faced a threat of closure in 2024, when the city council proposed mothballing it to save £400,000 in annual running costs, but the plans were shelved.

It is the only major pool left in the city after the demolition of the main indoor pool, due to crumbling concrete, but a new one is due to be built.

Speaking on Friday, Cole, who still swims, said she used to visit the lido with her friends and family.

"We had season tickets which probably cost about 10 shillings a season," she added.

"We were a very lively swimming club and I was the leading swimmer of Peterborough in 1947.

"It is where we came and met other boys, and at the same time we were at the beginning of when swimming really started changing."

Bill Marriott is the same age as the lido, which is located in Peterborough city centre.

"I have been coming down since I was 10 - a long, long time - and I enjoyed every moment of it," he said.

"I came down and kept myself fit every time. We are so lucky to have the facility here."

Jane Callaghan is part of Friends of Peterborough Lido - a community group that formed in 2017, which helps to preserve and promote the pool.

"This is a really special place, we like to call it the jewel in Peterborough's crown, and it is special as it holds a lot of memories," she said.

"For us who are regular swimmers it is a really happy place.

"Once you've been in that water it gets under your skin, you want to come again and again, and it is such a good feeling."

Nina Wright, marketing manager for Peterborough Lido, said the 90th birthday was "really exciting".

She said the facility was a "really important point in Peterborough's history".

"It is a very iconic building right in the city centre and is a great example of Art Deco design," added Wright.

"It is a very expensive old building, the pool is heated and there are three pools here, and that obviously costs a lot of money.

"There is a lot of passion for the lido in Peterborough - and that is why we desperately want people to use it, as it hopefully will be here to stay for another 90 years."

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