--- title: "Hilsea Lido" description: "Brilliant newly refurbished historic 67m open-air pool." canonical_url: "https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/pool/hilsea-lido" last_updated: "2026-08-16T10:55:03.623Z" --- As you can imagine, my Instagram feed is all swimming, peppered with Jeremy Clarkson selling Hawkstone beer and old clips of the funniest man that ever lived, Don Rickles! Recently, Hilsea Lido has been heavy on the social media drive as they promote the final stages of their massive restoration project. When they finally get the thing wet a couple of months ago and start posting photos of the finished product, I'm all in for a swim here this summer. I'm heading down to the Isle of Wight for a couple of days this afternoon, so stay in Portsmouth last night and have a warm-up swim at the Mountbatten Centre pool ready for the main event this morning. I've booked the 8am lane swim session for what promises to be another beautiful summer morning. Hilsea Lido first opens in 1935 and quickly becomes one of Portsmouth's great outdoor swimming spots. Its enormous seawater pool comes complete with a 10-metre diving tower, and the British Olympic team even uses the pool for training around the 1936 Berlin Games. In its heyday this must have been quite a place, but like many British lidos it eventually suffers from years of decline and underinvestment. After a major restoration, Hilsea Lido reopens on 2 May 2026 with its wonderfully unusual 67-metre unheated outdoor pool brought back to life. The pool, filtration and facilities have all been rebuilt, but importantly it still feels like a proper old-school lido rather than something that's been polished into a generic leisure centre. Google Maps still shows the pool pre-renovation, so I grab a quick screenshot to show just how far it's come! Head to the pool in the car with a quick stop at the Costa drive-through for my pre-swim coffee, a la iced vanilla latte style this morning. Apple Maps seems to want me to drive through a bus station, with no entry signs everywhere! Then spot a brightly coloured lane with 'Lido' painted on the road. Clearly needed, as if you're not familiar with the area it's very confusing. The pool sits alongside the historic Hilsea Lines moat, with South Coast Wakepark right next door in the old moat. There's also a separate kids' splash park on the side. Park and head through the gates, then marvel at the brilliant bright blue sparkling pool in front of me! It's 67m long with six lanes plus a bit on the side. There are beach hut-style changing rooms down the left and a large astroturfed area on the other side with a shower block, an Airstream food trailer, coffee and ice cream. Everything you'd hope to see! Even proper wave breaker lanes, despite the odd pool length. I bet they weren't cheap! Quick change, find a working locker, then pick my lane and jump in. I've pre-booked, as they've recommended during the hot spell. I don't know if the 8am session is fully booked, but it certainly doesn't feel too busy. I'm sharing a centre lane with just one other swimmer and the pace around the pool is pretty decent. The water temperature is perfect. Their website lists the current pool temperature and when I check it first thing this morning it says 15 degrees. By the time I'm in the pool it's up to 17.1. With warm early morning sun on your back, the water feels on the cold end of perfect! I've got a new pair of goggles on but I can't get over how bright and brilliant everything looks underwater. The full sun and spotless blue pool liner amplify the clarity of the water. For an outdoor pool, the water is super clear and there's not a wayward leaf in sight. And no chemical taste! I can imagine a good chunk of the investment went into a rather hefty new filtration system. Like Jesus Green Lido at 91m, the 67m lanes are an odd length. Work through a 1,608m, then some 402s! Finish up a very enjoyable swim with a two-mile 3,216 metres. Swim done, head to the opposite side of the changing huts for a shower, which I think might just be a temporary solution. The individual home-style shower cubicles with closing doors are odd for a public pool, but there's none of the usual cold dribble you get from most pool showers. Enough water pressure to clear the barnacles off a boat and as hot as you like! Time for a quick marvel at this brilliant pool and wish it was on my doorstep, then head off for a trip across the Solent.