Tooting Bec Lido (#807): Worth Tooting About?

30 June 2026

As I was planning our move to London in 2023 and started swimming around the town on visits that summer, I started to learn about English lido culture and began to hear about this apparently magical, 90-meter long unheated Tooting Bec Lido in south London, London's longest lido (and, I believe, second only to Cambridge's 91-meter / 100 yard length Jesus Green Lido in terms of longest pools in England).

I did make it down to the indoor, 33-meter long Tooting Leisure Centre (pool #654) in late 2023 when my wife and daughters were doing a cake baking class nearby ...

... but it has taken two and a half years to make the trek to the nearly 120 year old lido ...

... for two very good reasons. First, the Lido was closed for renovations from December 2022 through May 2024. Second, because it is unheated and I abhor cold water (e.g., see here for my last cold water swim ever), I wanted to wait until we had a nice hot summer to warm up this massive body of water:

Having this water heat up to almost 25°C is about the only benefit I can see that the late June heatwave brought to un-air-conditioned London. I carved out time on a Tuesday morning to leave home early so I could grab a swim with enough time to get back into the city for a 9am client meeting. A delay on the Northern Line ate up 15 of the planned 45 minutes I had allotted for my pool time, but I still got in 1,800 meters.

I completely understand why British swimmers enjoy this space. There was a great vibe to the morning, a joyous community spirit, with picnic benches setup where everyone left their bags, clothes and towels while swimming and then sat chatting in small groups post-swim. The colourful changing cabins along the length of the pool could have used a fresh coat of paint, IMHO, but offered quiet, private space to get ready pre & post swim.

I very much enjoyed the panels at the far side of the pool which tell the history of the space ...

... and a handful of these hand painted tiles above the "stands" midway down the pool length shared some interesting tidbits of patrons past, this loving, swimming couple being my favorite of the stories:

My timeline included homemade granola (thanks, Bella), blueberries and milk (supplied for free by the great onsite cafe) for breakfast and then I was off to walk through Tooting Common to catch the Northern Line back to Tottenham Court Road.

A great start to the day!