Heated from spring to autumn, the 33-metre open-air pool in Portishead's Lake Grounds, looking out over the Bristol Channel
Open to visitorsheated April to October, cold-water swims at weekends in winter — book a session online before you go
The Lord Mayor of Bristol opened Portishead Open Air Pool in April 1962. For its first years the water was warmed to 21°C with hot water from a phosphorus works nearby, until the factory closed in 1969 and an oil-fired boiler was put in instead. By 2008 the pool faced closure, and a local campaign saved it. About £200,000 of renovation followed, filmed for Ty Pennington’s TV series Great British Adventure, and the pool reopened in May 2009 under a new charity, Portishead Pool Community Trust, which still runs it. The heated season runs from April to around the end of October, and in winter the trust opens at weekends for cold-water swims. Book a session online before you go. Clevedon Marine Lake, a free sea-water lake, is about 9km down the coast, and Bristol Lido is about 12km east.
