Stonehaven Open Air Pool

Stonehaven Open Air Pool stands in Queen Elizabeth Park by the sea in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. Built in 1934, it is the UK’s only art deco Olympic-sized sea-water lido. The heated pool measures 50.3 metres by 20 metres and stays open from late May to early September. A leisure centre with an indoor pool sits next door, while a small paddling pool and a café serve visitors. A shark-themed water slide and an inflatable swoopee add extra play for swimmers. The pool has been a local landmark for nearly ninety years. It was opened by MP Malcolm Barclay-Harvey in a ceremony that included speed swimming and diving. After its first season it gained heating to keep the water at 29 °C. During the Second World War soldiers stationed nearby used the pool for recreation. In the 1990s a campaign by the Friends of the Pool saved it from closure and continues to maintain the site. Visitors find a long open-air pool set against coastal views. At the deep end a small slide shaped like a shark runs on summer afternoons. A separate paddling pool welcomes younger children beside the café. The pool also hosts weekly midnight swims in high season and, since 2025, winter cold-water sessions from November. The art deco buildings and heated water make it a rare place to swim outdoors in northern Britain.