North London Food & Culture

A beginner’s guide to…Parliament Hill Lido

Never jumped in? Here's what you need to know

What: This lovely Grade II-listed lido, in case you didn’t realise, first opened back in 1938. Designed by the same team who did similar benign things to Victoria Park and Brockwell Park, in 2018 it celebrated its milestone 80th birthday.

Where: Right next to Gospel Oak Overground. Y’know the score: take a left as you leave the station, and another by Mutt Hutt – and you’re there. The majesty of the art deco building shouldn’t be lost on you, especially set against a deep blue spring sky.

I’ve never been. Talk me through it. Well, the unheated pool is mahoosive, 61 x 27 metres, and one of only three London lidos to be open all year round (the others are Brockwell and Tooting Bec). Oh, and the shallow end is on the western side, while the deep end reaches two metres. Be careful.

Can I dive? No: after the death of a boy back in the mid 1970s, most of the diving boards were removed, with the last one taken down in 2003.


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How much is it? Currently £2.40-£4 a session (see Covid update below). And of course all the money gets poured back into the lido.

How warm is the water now? Check on Twitter each morning as they post the water temperature @lidoPH. Anyway, you can sun yourself on the steps afterwards.

Bask like a lizard before or after. Photos: SE

I’m not a great swimmer. Is it intimidating? Not at all. Of course there are serious front-crawlers, heads down, swimcaps on, but there are also lots of locals enjoying the resource. Having fun, even. Like we were.

Is there a cafe? Yup, and it’s really nice now. Decent Square Mile coffee, home-made brownies and other delectables, plus avo-led brunches and lunches of falafel and salads. And you can lounge on the terrace and watch the swimmers go by.

Did you know? At £34,000, it was the most expensive of the art deco lidos to be built in the capital.

COVID-19 update: All swimmers now must pre-book a 60-minute time slot, with a limited number of places allocated. You must be over 16 and keep to your allocated time. No more than 3 sessions per person per week. Be warned: the sessions sell out very quickly at the moment. To book a swim please follow this link.

The Lido, Heath Lodge, Parliament Hill NW5. More info here.
Article updated July 26th 2020.

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The award-winning print and online title Kentishtowner was founded in 2010 and is part of London Belongs To Me, a citywide network of travel guides for locals. For more info on what we write about and why, see our About section.