Swim in the saltwater Jubilee Pool in Penzance
N loves a water park but we couldn’t make the big adrenaline park timings work for when we were in Cornwall with other places we wanted to visit. The nearest I could provide him with was Jubilee Pool right on the sea front in Penzance.
The pool is the UK’s largest saltwater lido, right from the 1930s art deco era. It’s a beautiful place (even in the miserable grey weather), and I’m sure it will be packed later in the summer. It had only opened the Saturday we arrived, so we knew it wouldn’t be warm as it’s unheated in the main pool.
You can buy tickets for the heated geothermal pool (which was around 28C, normal pool temperatures). But we wanted to swim, and the geothermal one was busy and really just for sitting around in.
I booked tickets beforehand online, using 10% off discount vouchers. We could turn up any time within our 1-5pm slot.
There are limited changing rooms, so you’re advised to arrive ready to swim. With no lockers you need to keep your bags at the side of the pool (although people had left things in some changing rooms which was really frustrating).
Let’s just say it was cold…the guy on reception said it was 20C, but would feel more like 17C. So cold for swimming. It wasn’t too bad easing our way in, but I was concerned how slippy it was on the floor. It was hard to stay upright – and weirdly hard to move from swimming to stand upright. I found it easier going from floating on my back to upright.
There were a few others in the main pool too (mucking around mostly), but most stayed in the warmer one. Swimming and being submerged to my chin wasn’t as cold, but I found swimming hard. I’ve not swum for a while, so having strong wind blowing the water against your swimming action was hard work and very slow going. Although N coped better given he’s swum more recently than me. He really found it too cold though (that’s what being slim does vs someone who’s got quite a bit of fat on them!). So a few lengths and he’d had enough.
I enjoyed just floating around. I love swimming in outdoor pools, it makes you feel so free with the sky above you. But I didn’t stay in long either – getting a little cold, as well as getting a bit meh with the saltwater. Obviously early in the season the seawater hasn’t had chance to warm up from the sun. But I expect it’s bliss once the summer holidays arrives.
We found free changing rooms and got dried and dressed, before heading up to the cafe to treat ourselves to some hot chocolates. They were really tasty; we got them takeaway to drink on our walk back up the promenade to the hotel.
The Jubilee Pool is a beautiful historic swimming pool. It’s a treat to be able to have a seawater pool to swim in (we think they were refilling the water the day we were leaving Cornwall as we drove past). In the sun I suspect it would make stunning photos of the white buildings against the blue water and sky.
The main pool was cordoned off. This keeps the need for lifeguards to a minimum during the colder shoulder months of the season. But there was still plenty of room to swim.
The changing rooms are single or family double sized ones, but are fairly limited. When busy in the summer I suspect you could be waiting a while. There are also toilets alongside the changing rooms.
It being the start of the season, only the main and geothermal pools were open. The children’s small (unheated) pool obviously doesn’t get filled until later in the season. In the summer, they also have an inflatable course available.
If you’re taking children make sure you check in advance for the ratios and age limits. There’s lots of information and FAQs online, and booking was easy.
It was definitely an experience for us, and I’d love to see it in full summer sun.
Other saltwater swimming pools in the UK include:
- Shoalstone Pool, Devon
- Bude Sea Pool, Cornwall
- Clevedon Marine Lake, Somerset
- Tinside Lido and Devil’s Pool
Check out these great splashparks and outdoor pools around the UK.
Have you ever swum in a seawater pool?