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← Back to Ice BathsWhy this one made the list
South London Swimming Club has exclusive winter use; members swim year-round with handicap races every Sunday. An outdoor freshwater pool on Tooting Bec Common.
Practical
- Postcode
- SW16 1RU
- Setting
- Outdoor
- First visit
- A single length feels endless and the cold makes you gasp — lower in gradually, stay still a few seconds, and only push off once your breathing settles. It is seasonal, with members-only winter swimming; parking is free, and the shivers can hit after you are out.
- Getting started
- Walk-in welcome
- Booking
- Walk-in
- Website
- Tooting Bec Lido
- @tootingbeclido
What you'd want to know
Open-air freshwater swimming pool on Tooting Bec Common in Wandsworth. Opened in 1906, the pool is ringed by a deep concrete deck and a row of brightly painted individual changing cubicles in primary colours along the perimeter walls.
The cubicle wall is the lido's defining visual — brightly coloured doors stretch along the pool. A small café in the original pavilion sits at the south end with timber benches.
Tooting Bec Common's mature oaks and beeches rise beyond the perimeter. From October to May swimming is for South London Swimming Club members only.
Overheard from locals
- october to may, swimming is south london swimming club members only — you have to join the club. the application is the gate.
- the handicap race runs every sunday morning, year-round. it's the structure of the regulars' week.
- the coloured cubicle doors are the lido's signature — each member tends to claim one over time. you'll see the same swimmers at the same door.
- national cold water swimming championships every two years — the lido is where they're held. worth coming to watch even if you don't race.
- bring two towels and neoprene gloves. the deck is cold underfoot in winter; the pool drops to 2°c in january. no wetsuit is the convention.