Lido Ponty
Local highlightPontypridd's 1927 pool, rescued after two decades of dereliction and reopened as the National Lido of Wales with three heated pools
Open to visitorsopen Easter to late summer, plus weekend cold-water swims in autumn — tickets are sold online only
Pontypridd’s open-air baths opened in July 1927 in Ynysangharad War Memorial Park, built in the Mediterranean style that was popular for pools at the time, and they were reputed to be the largest open-air pool in Wales. A fire in 1991 closed the baths, and the site sat derelict for more than twenty years. Cadw listed the building Grade II in 2001, and a £6.3m restoration, paid for with European, Welsh Government, Heritage Lottery Fund, Cadw and council money, brought it back as Lido Ponty in 2015. The restorers kept the original 1920s turnstiles and the wooden changing cubicles.
Rhondda Cynon Taf council runs the lido now. There are three pools, a main pool, an activity pool and a splash pool, all heated to about 28°C. The season runs from Easter to late summer, and in autumn there are weekend cold-water swims, with the water left at around 15°C. Tickets are sold online only, so book before you set off. Pontypridd station is about 300m south-west, and the centre of Pontypridd, with the Old Bridge, an 18th-century single arch over the Taff, is a few minutes’ walk away.
