Shoalstone Pool

Shoalstone Pool is a sea-water swimming pool on Shoalstone Beach in Brixham, Devon. It sits on the town’s seafront, facing Torbay, and is the English Riviera’s only open-air 50-metre sea-water pool. The pool fills naturally at high tide, giving swimmers fresh salt water without pumps. Local families, schools and tourists use it most days from May to September. Lifeguards patrol the pool from ten in the morning until six in the evening during the season. The pool has a long history that began in the 19th century when Victorians bathed in the natural rock pool. In 1896 two walls were built to hold back the tide, creating a safer bathing place. By 2004 the council could no longer pay for its upkeep, so local people formed the Friends of Shoalstone Pool to keep it open. In 2014 Brixham Town Council took over the lease from Torbay Council and now runs the pool with a community group called Shoalstone Pool CIO. Visitors find a 53-metre rectangular pool set into the rocks with clear views across Torbay. The surrounding promenade offers benches and beach huts for hire. The Friends organise events and fundraising to maintain the site. Swimmers of all ages share the water, while lifeguards watch from the poolside. At low tide the exposed rocks show where the natural pool once stood. The car park and beach furniture provide extra space for visitors to relax between swims.