ABOUT Jesus Green Lido
JEsus Green Lido
At 100 yards, Jesus Green Lido in central Cambridge is Britain’s longest outdoor pool, an honour it jointly shares with Tooting Bec Lido in London. During the busy summer months, the pool is open every day 7am-7pm. Booking via the Better App is highly recommended. You can access the app <here> or book via their website <here>. As we’re an unheated outdoor pool, the water temperature fluctuates widely over the course of the year, dropping to icy temperatures in winter and low to mid-20s during summer.
The History of Jesus Green Lido
When it opened in 1923, Jesus Green Bath, as it was originally known, was one of the longest swimming pools in Britain. At 100 yards (91.5 metres) long – and 100 years old – it remains among the longest. Its slender width, just 15 yards (14 metres), was designed to mirror the experience of swimming in the River Cam. The Bath needed to nestle close to the Cam because the river provided its water. Despite swimmers complaining that they swam with small fish, only after the Second World War was the pool filled from mains water. The pool holds 2.4 million litres of cold water and takes five days to fill, and while swimmers no longer see fish darting below, at quiet periods it’s not uncommon to see ducks bobbing on the surface.
THE FRIENDS
The Friends of Jesus Green Lido was formed in the late 1980s. Our aim is to secure the future of the lido and its special environment. In 2018 we set up a new Friends of Jesus Green Lido Committee so that we can work more closely with Cambridge City Council, which owns the site, and Better, the social enterprise which manages the pool. You’re warmly invited to join us – it’s free!
The Friends
