“Warmest ever summer” results in a busy year for lidos

The UK heat waves and hot spells this summer have resulted in record-breaking numbers of Britons visiting the country’s outdoor pools and lidos. In Wales, visitors have flocked to Lido Ponty – the only facility of its kind in the country – with 47,000 people having visited the site by mid-July.

In Hitchin, Hertfordshire, after temperatures reached an unseasonably warm 23°C in May, more than 430 people turned out for the launch of a brand-new pilot programme at the town’s outdoor lido – and the pool has been busy ever since.

Elsewhere, Greenwich Leisure – which operates leisure centres and pools on behalf of local authorities under its Better brand – said that the summer of 2025 was the “busiest it has ever seen” in lidos and outdoor swim spots.

All of Better’s nine lidos recorded increased footfall in 2025, with Oxfordshire’s Abbey Meadows Outdoor Pool usage rising by 112% and Woodstock Open Air Pool recording a 76% increase in swim visits. Elsewhere, Better’s London Fields Lido in Hackney, London, saw visits increase to 133,040 (up from 117,880).

Andrew Clark, Head of Sport and Aquatics at Better said: “It’s been a phenomenally busy summer season in Better’s lidos.”