Shoalstone Pool
Local highlightA 53-metre seawater pool on the rocky shore at Brixham, run by volunteers and free to swim, with a donation asked
Open to visitorsopen May to September, free with a suggested donation; lifeguards in the main summer season — check before you go
Brixham’s sea pool lies on the rocky shore below Berry Head, on the eastern edge of the town. Walls to hold the sea water were first built here in Victorian times, and the pool as it stands dates from 1926, so 2026 is its centenary. At 53 m, Shoalstone is the only open-air 50-metre sea-water pool on the English Riviera, the stretch of Torbay coast from Torquay to Brixham. When Torbay Council could no longer support the pool in 2004, local people formed the Friends of Shoalstone Pool, and volunteers now run it through a charity on a lease held by Brixham Town Council. Shoalstone normally opens from May to September, with lifeguards through the main summer season; entry is free, with a donation asked for each swim, and the sea water is unheated. Breakwater Beach is a short walk west, and Paignton station is about 6km north-west.
