Making a splash with a MotherCulture ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Summer isn’t summer in London without a visit to a Lido. Having always liked to swim in warm water I was a reluctant Lido visitor but my husband loves it and over the years, I’ve learned to too. I was six months pregnant in the heat of summer last year, which was pretty unpleasant and so Brockwell Lido was the go to place for my whale-like body. No doubt the ripples could be felt for days after I had taken a dip!
We went this past weekend on what was the hottest day of this “summer” (!) to date. Now anyone who goes regularly knows that as soon as the sun comes out, half of London has the same idea to go so getting there early is a must. We decided to coincide with the morning nap so as we queued, baby slept. Note the queue was long at 8.45am and we actually queued for 40 minutes. For coffee aficionados, the cafe doesn’t open until 9am so if you need coffee to fuel the queuing, always good to remember. When we finally got in, we discovered that there was only one card machine and if you had cash there was a much shorter queue. So tips #1 and #2: go early and bring cash. Entrance is £6 per adult and free for babies and free if you have membership to the Fusion Gym/Swim at Brockwell.
We found a shady patch on the decking to the right of the pool. It seemed to be the family corner and loads of people had the same idea so if you go any later, I would take some kind of sun shade with you just in case.
Despite the sun the pool was still pretty chilly and it took me a while to pluck up the courage to go in. My husband and I tag teamed it so that while one of us swam, the other was concentrating on entertaining the tiny dictator. We brought a play mat and toys and he was happy the whole time we were there, especially given there was so much people watching to do. Given the temperature of the water, we decided not to take him in the water as I only brought trunks and neither of us were ready to deal with a meltdown. Tip #3: bring warm swimwear for babies.
After our swim, we went for brunch at the Lido cafe. It’s not always easy to get a table there and you can’t book in advance but we got lucky. It’s busy so don’t expect the quickest service but the staff bent over backwards to help us and to give us a suitable breakfast for the little one. Like every hipster these days he had avocado and sourdough and loved it. They have high chairs and there are baby changing facilities in the main pool building.
All in all we had the best morning, managing to both get some exercise in and a bit of sun without upsetting any routine. I had been slightly dreading it thinking that the Lido wasn’t the most baby friendly place but we loved it and next to us there was a lovely lady who was there with her 6 week old baby: inspiration for everyone!
In a nutshell
Cost – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Not too expensive given the Lido can be a whole day acitivity.
Accessibility – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Easy access – pram or sling.
Facilities – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Baby changing facilities easy to find, nothing glamorous and as with public pools can be a little dirty but fine on the whole.
Feeding friendly – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Only issue is seating (there is none) and we always find it easier with back support 😂
General vibes – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Very family friendly, holiday like spirit.
MotherCulture 