The Scottish Mail on Sunday

Take the plunge at the best lidos

- BRITISH BOLT HOLES WOOLLEY GRANGE Bradford-on-Avon Kate Mansey B&B costs from £159 per room a night (woolleygra­ngehotel.co.uk).

EVERY week our Holiday Hero NEIL SIMPSON takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the leg-work so you don’t have to. This week: Britain’s best outdoor pools.

THE turnstiles at England’s outdoor swimming pools will – hopefully – spin again from March 29 as lockdown rules ease. Pools in the rest of the UK are planned to reopen soon afterwards.

However, numbers of swimmers will be limited to ensure social distancing, so to book a session as soon as they become available sign up now to your chosen pool’s website or app.

The first lido off the mark is set to be Jubilee Pool in Penzance. General admission tickets go on sale on its website tomorrow, though as the main sea-water pool is unheated those first swims may be chilly! Jump in and swim surrounded by the beautifull­y restored Cubiststyl­e architectu­re of the complex.

Move fast and you can also buy the last few limited-edition T-shirts produced to celebrate the pool’s 85th anniversar­y last summer (jubileepoo­l.co.uk).

Serious swimmers in East London can head to Hackney for 50m laps at the Olympic-sized London Fields Lido. Built in 1932, steam rises from the heated water while the jaunty reds, blues and yellows of the poolside lockers add a nautical flavour. Book swims at better.org. uk where there are also details of the 50m heated Charlton Lido, south of the Thames in Greenwich.

Egypt is in the air in Bristol where motifs from the country’s temples are set amid the restored Victorian grandeur and modern extension of the city’s lido buildings.

Bristol Lido was opened in 1850 and in the 1930s was the first in the country to be heated by electricit­y.

As the lockdown rules relax, spa treatments will also be offered. Find out more at lidobristo­l.com or go to the pool’s sister site thameslido.com for heated outdoor swims in Reading.

Holidaymak­ers heading to the Peak District this summer could pop along to Hathersage, known as ‘the little village with the big attraction’ – the attraction being a 30m heated pool complete with a nearby bandstand that dates back to 1936.

In previous years, managers arranged special events, including ‘dive-in movies’ where you watch films from a lilo, and aim to announce some for 2021 soon. Details of the reopening are at hathersage­swimmingpo­ol.co.uk.

By the sea in Plymouth, watch boats, yachts and ships sail by as you swim in the semi-circular Tinside Lido, another Art Deco gem from the 1930s. The salt-water pool is not heated, but regulars say its rich blue tiles make it feel like the French Riviera (it’s regularly voted one of the most stunning in Europe) and compensate for any chill. Book swims at everyoneac­tive.com.

It’s not just swimmers who are waiting patiently until Chesham Moor’s 25m heated pool reopens – staff are getting ready to restart their popular aqua fitness classes at the same time.

It’s not all noisy fun though – the pool is surrounded by trees where red kites nest and fly overhead. Bookings for swims and fitness classes will be taken from March 22 at cheshammoo­rfitness.org.uk.

A few weeks later, Portishead Open Air Pool in North Somerset, which is run by a charitable trust, is set to reopen after an extended break for maintenanc­e. The water in the 33m pool is heated by a biomass boiler, and attracts close to 50,000 visitors each season.

Swims can be booked soon at portishead­openairpoo­l.org.uk.

ONCE upon a time, my husband and I would spend the odd weekend at a luxury hotel. But since we’ve had children, such jaunts have been something that other people do. Until now, that is.

Woolley Grange, a charming Jacobean manor house near Bath, not only caters for children but, in doing so, cleverly allows their parents a proper rest, too.

The immaculate gardens, terrace and interiors are very grown-up (oak-panelled walls, fine furniture and velvet sofas). Yet the bedrooms are designed with families in mind – adjoining rooms in a suite.

Children are made to feel like little VIPs but this is not just for them. Staff know the true VIPs are the Very Important Parents.

For some me-time, a modern Elemis spa is tucked away within the beautiful Walled Garden, from where organic veg is produced for The Orangery restaurant.

Take the family for a swim in the indoor pool and they can gaze through the windows to see ducks waddling around outside. There is also an outdoor swimming pool with sunlounger­s, a picnic area, a playground with swings and a vast lawn for football or croquet. There’s also the Woolley Bears’ Den, an indoor Ofsted-registered children’s club full of books, games and dressing-up costumes, with 90 minutes’ free childcare thrown in.

Cheerful staff know that a busy child is a happy child and have constructe­d a series of activities where youngsters can shake their own mocktails, romp around on a scavenger hunt and toast marshmallo­ws around a campfire.

Mealtimes, meanwhile, are a revelation. You can choose to have High Tea (it starts at 5pm) or a family supper and children can nip off to the cinema room to watch a Disney

movie while you eat dessert in peace. Alternativ­ely, once little ones are asleep, you can sample cocktails, the organic menu and matching wines at leisure while taking advantage of the babysittin­g service.

For my little city kids, Woolley Grange was a dream come true. For their long-suffering parents, it was glorious to know that luxury hotels are not just a fairy tale.

The USP: Indulgence for parents and their children, but we did see child-free couples here too.

The rooms: We checked into the McIntosh suite. All rooms come with a babysittin­g service.

The food: A delicious and creative a la carte menu, with dishes such as rabbit terrine, cured chalk stream trout with samphire, and Salcombe lobster. An extensive children’s menu covers every whim.

 ??  ?? JUMP TO IT: Book early for pools such as Charlton Lido, above, as social distancing rules will limit numbers
JUMP TO IT: Book early for pools such as Charlton Lido, above, as social distancing rules will limit numbers
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 ??  ?? INDULGENT: The hotel and, above, its lounge
INDULGENT: The hotel and, above, its lounge

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