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← Back to Ice BathsWhy this one made the list
Brockwell Icicles winter group meets all year; post-swim coffee/cake ritual at The Lido Cafe; Brockwell Swimmers club (formed 2016) runs FreezeFest cold-water champs every January.
Practical
- Postcode
- SE24 0PA
- Setting
- Outdoor
- First visit
- Buy a ticket ahead and start with a single length — the gasp reflex hits the moment you're in, so breathe out hard and don't fight it. Get dry and into warm layers fast afterwards; mild shivering is normal, and the Sunday Icicles crowd will tell you acclimatising takes seasons, not days.
- Getting started
- Walk-in welcome
- Booking
- Walk-in
- Website
- Brockwell Lido
- @brockwelllidousers
What you'd want to know
Grade II listed Art Deco lido in Brockwell Park, Lambeth — opened July 1937, designed by Harry Rowbotham and T. L.
Smithson in the Moderne style. A 50m Olympic-length outdoor pool sits at the centre, surrounded by a broad concrete deck.
The pool is ringed by cream-painted Art Deco buildings with rounded corners, horizontal banding and steel-framed windows. The Lido Cafe fronts the pool with a long glazed terrace and palm trees flanking the entrance.
The building wraps the pool in a U-shape and houses changing rooms, a gym, a spa with sauna and steam room — all retaining their original 1937 Art Deco detailing. Beyond the perimeter wall, the leafy expanse of Brockwell Park rises gently toward Brixton.
Overheard from locals
- the brockwell icicles meet at the lido every sunday in winter — the regulars bring home-baked cake and the café halves the price of coffee when the water drops below 10°c.
- water temps run 3°c in january, 6°c in march. snow on the deck and ice on the rails is normal. don't underdress on the walk in.
- bring two towels, a robe, neoprene socks and gloves — most regulars skip the wetsuit even when it's properly cold.
- the spa with sauna and steam is on-site — most people swim first then sit in the sauna ten minutes before leaving. don't go in cold.
- the freezefest cold-water champs run every january. you don't have to race; turning up and watching is how most people meet the icicles.