LIDOS
Pearl Beach Pool in New South Wales is a popular spot for the local community
for westerners to visit the former USSR, but Sarah Campbell (who now works as a designer in London) was able to go to Moscow on an art-school trip in 1988 and, in winter temperatures of -20˚C, swam in its huge open-air pool – then the biggest in the world. “The only way to get into the pool was to dive underwater and swim through a tunnel,” she explains. “When you came up, all you could see were white clouds of steam. It was really quite a weird experience, but quite magical as well.” This thrill of being transported out of the ordinary is common to outdoor swimming everywhere – and with it oſten comes the urge to record and share our experiences. A few years ago, Naomi England began a project to swim at, photograph and blog about all
IT WAS REALLY QUITE A WEIRD EXPERIENCE, BUT QUITE MAGICAL AS WELL
the man-made ocean baths (similar to the UK’s tidal pools) in her Australian state of New South Wales. She found 51 still operational, and says their appeal lies in being close to nature. “You can see the sun rise over the ocean. The pools are different every day,” she says. Like British lidos, some ocean baths have particular traditions
– like the Christmas Day breakfast at Austinmer Pool (pictured, right): “The local ladies from the church sing Christmas carols, one couple bring along a silver tea service, others bring muffins,” says England. “There’s a strong community feel,” she adds, “but you have to be quick – by 7am everyone is packing up and going home.”
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OCEAN BATHS Unique among Australian states, New South Wales has a large number of ocean baths built into the rocks on its coast, providing locals with a respite from rip tides (and sharks) since the 19th century. Not all are classic tidal pools though: some are only full at high tide, and others have pumps to keep the water in. As with British lidos, communities develop strong atachments to the pools and work hard to preserve them. Swimmers at Pearl Beach raised $80,000AUS over 18 months towards restoring their ocean pool. The local council then approved the restoration and paid the outstanding cost, estimated at $250,000AUS. See
nswoceanbaths.com/NSW_Ocean_Baths.html
Her project is now complete – although since moving to Singapore, England has delayed updating her blog for fear of geting homesick. Ocean baths, she says, are hard to find elsewhere in Australia, let alone outside of it. But though the local details may differ across the world, there is an idea in these pools that has a universal appeal: the power of nature, in combination with the elegance and reassurance of human design. Just be careful what you call them. “Lidos?” says England. “Never heard of them.” ○
Jonathan Knot is a freelance journalist and news editor for the Outdoor Swimming Society. He has writen on lidos for a number of publications, including the Guardian and the London Evening Standard. His local lido is London Fields. As well as swimming, he writes about politics and travel and is the author of the travel guide
skiathostruth.com
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