5 Best Swimming Pools In Cambridgeshire

Cambridge does something most English cities gave up decades ago: it still swims outdoors, on purpose, in unheated water. Two of the county's five listed pools are open-air institutions — Jesus Green Pool, the page's top rating at 4.5, is one of the country's longest lidos, a strip of 1920s swimming lane stretched along the river among the trees, and Lammas Land Pool at 4.2 is its gentler sibling, an easygoing paddling pool on the common that has cooled generations of small children. The other three venues carry the indoor, year-round load: Parkside Pools & Gym in the city centre lists entry at £7.50 and adds diving boards and a learner pool, Abbey Leisure Complex lists £7 with its leisure-water slant, and The Hive at Ely covers the county's north with pools among its wider leisure offer. The seasonal split is absolute — the lidos live in the summer calendar and close for the colder months, while the leisure centres barely notice the seasons. Three of the five have indoor provision, four have outdoor. It is a short list, but between river-fed lengths and toddler splash sessions it covers the full temperature range of British swimming.