Stonehaven Open Air Pool
Stonehaven Open Air Pool in 2005
56°58′11″N 2°12′16″W / 56.969691°N 2.204508°W / 56.969691; -2.204508
Opened2 June 1934 (1934-06-02)
Owned byAberdeenshire Council
TypeOpen air salt water
Websitehttp://stonehavenopenairpool.co.uk/
Features
Paddling pool
Entrance to the pool

Stonehaven Open Air Swimming Pool, Queen Elizabeth Park, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, is an Olympic sized heated open air public pool opened in 1934. It is the northernmost lido in the UK.[1]

Description

This 55 yard (50.3 meters) x 20 yard open air pool is the UK's only art deco Olympic sized sea water lido. The water is heated (29C/84F) and the pool is open from late May to early September. There is a Leisure Centre with indoor swimming pool next door.[2][3] Other facilities include a paddling pool and a cafe.[4]

At the deep end, there is a small water slide, themed as a shark. An inflatable swoopee is also available on weekend afternoons in early & late season and daily in high season (local school holidays). Midnight swims are also offered weekly in high season. There was also previously a high diving board, but this was removed many years ago.[5]

History

The pool was opened 2 June 1934 by MP Malcolm Barclay-Harvey with a ceremony that included speed swimming and diving.[6][7][8][9] Initially unheated, a combined heating and filtration system was installed for 1935 following complaints that the pool was too cold.[10]

The pool remained open during World War II.[11]

Usage of the pool declined in the 1970s, reportedly due to changing holiday patterns.[12]

The Friends of the Pool organisation was created in 1995 following a threat of closure from the council.[13] On 5 March 1996, councillors decided to mothball the pool in an attempt to save around £80,000 in yearly subsidies.[14][15] Following a local campaign led by the Friends of the Pool, the council announced that it would not withdraw the funds, allowing the pool to continue to operate.[16] While the Council owns and operates the pool, the Friends maintain, enhance and promote the pool.[3][17]

In 2019, the slide was closed due to concerns about the state of its supporting structure. It was replaced for the opening of the pool in 2021.[18]

The pool did not operate in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] It is set to reopen in May 2021.[20]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ McLaren, Moray (1967). The Shell guide to Scotland. Ebury Press. p. 426. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  2. ↑ Aberdeenshire Council Archived 8 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine information on Stonehaven Leisure Centre
  3. 1 2 "History". Stonehaven Heated Open Air Pool. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  4. ↑ "Stonehaven Open Air Swimming Pool". www.stonehavenopenairpool.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  5. ↑ Steele, Jenny (27 August 2015). "Stonehaven Open Air Pool". Looking Back, Moving Forwards. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "Nettie Whitelaw, a Friend of the Stonehaven Pool, outlines the history of one of Stonehaven's cherished landmarks as the pool celebrates its 75th anniversary". BBC. 13 August 2009. Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
  7. ↑ Smith, Janet (2006). Liquid assets: the lidos and open air swimming pools of Britain. English Heritage. pp. 50, 84–85. ISBN 978-0-9547445-0-2. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Stonehaven's new bathing pool: Success of Opening Day". Dundee Courier. 4 June 1934. p. 6. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  9. ↑ "Stonehaven swimming pool grand opening gala". The Press and Journal. 1 June 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  10. ↑ "Stonehaven season opening: Attractions at Improved Open Air Pool". The Press and Journal. 30 May 1935. p. 9. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  11. ↑ "Stonehaven Pool Season Closes". Evening Express. 18 September 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  12. ↑ Napier, Judith (7 March 1996). "Open-air pool closure angers town's traders". The Press and Journal. p. 2. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  13. ↑ Rafferty, Neil (20 December 1996). "Cash aid gives open-air pool another year of life". The Press and Journal. p. 3. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  14. ↑ Fairgrieve, Mike (6 March 1996). "Pool to shut as cuts bite". Evening Express. p. 2. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "Appeal to save open-air pool". The Herald (Glasgow). 15 March 1996. p. 11. Campaigners are appealing to the public to save Stonehaven's open-air heated swimming pool, which the new Aberdeenshire Council has decided to close. Mr Alan Bain, chairman of the Friends of the Open Air Pool, said he was delighted to learn that the four local representatives on the new authority were backing the pool... Mr Alan Bisset, a solicitor and member of the Stonehaven Leisure Trust Committee, said he understood that little or no consultation had taken place before the decision was taken. He denied that the cost to ratepayers was £80,000, claiming his information put the subsidy at just over £44,000. He said most of this deficit could be wiped out by an increase in the entrance price, which he claimed people thought was "ridiculously low".
  16. ↑ "Stonehaven pool's £80,000 reprieve". Evening Express. 31 May 1996. p. 14. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  17. ↑ Gordon Lyon (8 September 2004). "Lure of open-air pool puts Stonehaven on international map". Aberdeen Press and Journal. p. 3. More than 24,000 people passed through its turnstiles during the 12-week open season, but the Friends of Stonehaven Open Air Swimming Pool believe its appeal is even wider. Spokesman Doug Samways said it would be wrong to assume that the people surveyed were there on their own, as people tended to visit in family groups or with friends. He said the number of people visiting Stonehaven this summer because of the pool was likely to be in the region of 46,350.
  18. ↑ Beattie, Kieran (27 April 2021). "New pictures show slide installed at Stonehaven Open Air Pool". Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  19. ↑ Brown, Graham. "Coronavirus: Plug pulled on Stonehaven Open Air Pool 2020 season". The Courier. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  20. ↑ Renton, Dawn (8 April 2021). "Date set for Stonehaven Open Air Swimming Pool reopening". Mearns Leader. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.

References


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