Brockwell Lido

We visited with my partner and our toddler for a bit of fun. The water was so cold that we didn’t really wanna stay in the pool, my poor baby was shivering. Also, they were so busy but they have no family changing space, very little and small facilities generally to shower and change, I was queuing while holding my baby as there’s only one changing cubicle which is the only place with a baby changing table. Not very family friendly!

Beautiful any day, but especially in the summer sun! The lido itself is well maintained and beautiful, as is the sunbathing area. I would give the lido 5* except the women's changing room (poolside one) is always out of order these days, and now the showers in the gym changing room (which we are having to use instead) are 60% out of order so you have to queue while 4 of the 6 stand empty.

A living local legend, a lovely chilled and honest lido. No fancy gimmicks etc, there is a gym and other services on site too. Very much worth trying the pizza or grilled sandwiches.

Visited the Center this morning was calling to see if facilities was operational no one answered the phones? Rocked up & paid to use the sauna & steam! Sauna was packed as nothing else worked? I could not relax in spa area as it had a very musty smell of damp & urine, the area was very dirty. I was told cleaners had not been in due to bank holiday weekend, the area should be cleaned every day for hygiene purposes. Steam not working, no signs to advise customers? Complete waste of time, requested a refund of £8 which could only be returned to me in credit! Asked to speak to the manager was told he could not leave the poolside as he was doubling up as a life guard? The council needs to do better you can't feel healthy if your environment if it's musty & smelly or not in use. The young man at reception tried his best so my two stars are for him.

I became a member a few months ago using the gym exclusively. On a few occasions I noticed an urine smell coming from restrooms, but gym was fine. Currently the spa has sewage flies and a very disturbing stank in sauna and steamroom. The lido changing rooms are the same. The facility is not being kept clean, is clearly understaffed and is not up to a Health and Safety standard at the moment. I wish this was read by relevant people to make changes ASAP.

As a gym, it's just about okay... A lot of the equipment is quite tired. There are pins missing on the cable machines, quite a lot of the cardio doesn't work, and quite limited freeweights. I'm only a member cos it's over the road, but I've kept my other gym membership for proper workouts. The changing rooms are grim and could be cleaner, but I understand they're due to be refurbished. That said, it's priced about right for the quality and general kit. The pool is what makes it.

I would highly caution anyone to avoid using the gym. Several pieces of equipment are downright dangerous and an accident waiting to happen. There is mould in the water fountains and judging by the dust, most of the equipment has not been cleaned in a very long time. Avoid for your health.

One of my favourite places to meet friends and get coffee. Located overlooking the lido and sitting on the edge of the beautiful Brockwell Park, the cafe feels like a little escape from London. The coffee is good and the menu is affordable. It’s popular with young parents during the day which can sometimes make it a bit noisy. There’s an outside space which is great in summer. On the downside the toilets are usually pretty grim and the door closer is broken which can make it a bit drafty on colder days.

A great respite from the London heat. I visited on a weekend and easily found parking on the street right by the lido. There was no queue and it was relatively painless to get through to the pool. I wasn't able to use a locker however as I only had a £2 coin and reception had no change to provide me with pound coins for the lockers. Luckily I hadn't brought much of value with me so I hopped in and kept an eye on my belongings. It was quite busy with it being a blazing hot day, people had obviously been there sunbathing on the concrete all day! The lanes didn't feel too busy though when I was in the pool swimming. The pool is not heated so it can be a bit chilly when you first get in until you've got used to it. It was a delightful swim, to be swimming outside in England felt very novelty! It was generally clean, but a few things did float by on my swim. The changing facilities aren't the best, with only one small communal female changing area, with just one cubicle for privacy. It would be nice if they had some cubicles by the side of the pool like the Charlton lido, but maybe they didn't feel they had the room. There is a cafe on site, which by the look of it you had to access from outside, but there is a window that serves snacks and drinks. The only seating option when you are pool side is the bare flat concrete, so make sure you have a couple of towels with you so that you can lie out, I also took some flip flops for when I was walking about as opposed to going barefoot. I would definitely recommend this lido and I'm sure I will visit again, although I have now discovered Charlton lido, which is a lot closer to my home. The Art Deco style at Brockwell is much more aesthetically pleasing though!

For someone who's lived down the road from Brockwell lido for 5 years it is a disgrace I've not visited sooner. During the glimpse of our heat wave I came here with a friend on a Friday. Surprisingly we got a space in the car park (we know this was pure luck!). The parking is (I think) 2 hours free but it's not very clear whether you have to make a note of that when paying, so we just paid everything... hope they are enjoying getting all that free money Mr Parking God. When we got there the queue was way out the door at about 30 people deep we didn't have to wait too long to get in though. Once in we headed for the lockers which are few(!) And are located outside. There's about 40 lockers for the 100 people there. We walked into the changing room...and quickly walked back out it's very open and smelly. Standard. The pool itself is wonderful and fresh and you don't feel like you're swimming on top of people which is nice (especially as half the pool was closed when we visited). There's a cafe/bar (which is slow serving but worth the wait). The flooring isn't great, you're laying on concrete, bring a squishy towel. Apart from that it's a decent day out for some sun and a swim. Be warned sitting near the deep in. The kids jumping in and dive bombing constantly becomes tiresome. The poor lifeguards, is all I felt for the next few days! They deserve a medal.

Just for the pool and cafe, haven't tried the gym yet: Pool: bottom was a bit full of algae but the water is nice. Obviously it is unheated so bear that in mind. Staff are very friendly Cafe: makes a rock solid breakfast. I particularly liked the poached eggs and the grilled mushrooms. They also do a nice porridge

Mixed feelings about my little local gym/ fitness place So you're probably are keen to know about the pool. Well, yes, its cold. And when it's hot outside, it looks as if the whole of south London has come to sunbathe with their kids. So i'm not much of a pool goer but I do love the gym and a few classes. The location is super duper: I get to cross leafy Brockwell Park as a warm up for my work outs. The gym has no power plates but is still quite luxurious with all the tellys and a jacuzzi with steam room and sauna (and its even clean enough for my OCD standards). As a student, i dont bother with a pricey membership because for me its only £7.50 a go with the gym (this includes the sauna and whatnot). That's pretty decent since you are technically working out in a refurbished art deco building that has a view over a park. i do enjoy the classes such as zumba and swiss ball but theyre all rubbishly managed with only 1 or 2 slots a week even if there are between 10 and 20 people on the waiting list for each class. So as a non-member ive only been able to squeeze into two of those slots once in my entire life. Also too many times ive turned up when they said they had space only to be sent back home because the teacher hasn't shown up/ the class is actually full/ the power isn't working.... Nevertheless I wouldn't do anything aside from my pilates class with Victoria on Saturday mornings (£10 for an hour) which is independently managed. There are also great classes such as abs and stretch and LBT with lesser demand. Once you're in, you have a great time.

The lido is pretty much the best thing about this end of Herne Hill. In the summer, you can swim, and in the winter, you can use the indoor gym and sauna. Not to mention that behind the building is a BMX track, and inside the building is the famous Lido Cafe. Great community hub, I run into my neighbours here all the time.

There are the insane few who, regardless of the weather still brave the freezing outdoor pool at the Brockwell Lido. For the less insane they have recently opened up a new and well equipped gym, spa, steam room and exercise studio which allow you to stay in shape without getting hyperthermia. The Brockwell Lido used to have the feel of a rather grotty park swimming pool. You would always dread the trip to the showers and loos at the end of a day basking in the sun by the pool edge. Now however, although the pool remains the same the facilities are clean and modern, making all the difference. So if it is a day of lying in the summer sun and going for the occasional splash in the water, or a refreshing and hardcore work out and morning swim, then the Brockwell Lido is in my opinion a great choice. It is full of character and the pool is huge enough to prevent you from bumping into every other person there.

Lovely lido situated in Brockwell park. It has been recently refurbished with decent facilities. Pool is not heated so it can be a little chilly. There are ample sun terraces for sunbathing and relaxation. There is a fitness club on the premises but I don't do fitness club! No proper cafe yet as it's being renovated which does seem strange considering it's peak season now. There are rudimentary coffee/tea and snacks being offered. But I did not try them.

Lido's - tres Art Deco darling. I didn't realise that they got these places still going: when I left Bristol, they were doing up the Clifton Lido REALLY BADLY. So, went to Brockwell Lido on a cold October evening we were visiting a friend who lived near the park thur. And the water was COLD, my friends didn't want to go in but we had packed all our stuff so took the plunge we did. It was absolutey freezing. But we warmed up pretty quick. Swimming in open air is pretty refreshing. And in such a sympathetic surround as well. It wasn't raining which I'm sure might have dampened (geddit?) my recollections. On the pricey side, I dont go swimming often but £5.50 or whatever is steep for me. Luckily we had my pal's membership card so we split the cost between us. If I ever got all middle class on yo' ass and moved to Herne Hill/East Dulwich/etc/etc I'd get a membership and go there quite a lot!

When I used to live in South London my friends and I used to head down here at the first sign of any sort of sunlight to spread our towels out, get our tan on and splash around in the water drawing lots of attention to ourselves (forgive us, we were only schoolgirls :) ) It's a really decent size lido meaning even on scorching hot days there is still plenty of space for all people from all walks of life yummy mummies with screaming babies, boisterous school kids and even serious swimmers. It's not too pricey and if you get a set of 10 vouchers it's only £40 (that's £4 per swim, a £1.20 discount for adults) which should see you nicely through the summer months

Diving into an outdoor pool at 6:30 in the morning makes you feel truly alive in London, sadly the pool is now closed for winter as of September 30th but a number of events are planned for the winter season including scuba diving courses so do keep an eye out for more information on the website. Full season ticket goes from £150 in May and June down to £45 in September. It gets progressively cheaper month by month from July. Concessions season ticket start at £105 and go down to £25 in September. Early swim only season ticket starts at £80 and goes down to £30 in September. They've got a voucher scheme this year - which is a good idea. 10 vouchers are £40. A single ticket adult swim is £5.20/£3.60 (conc). Early morning is £2.60/£2.30 (conc). Evening swim is £3/£2.50 (conc) They also have special child season tickets, child vouchers, OAP rates, family rates, family concession rates.

What else could explain the surge of attendance at leisure centres up and down the country in the first week of January but the most-resolved New Year's resolution of them all: get fit. I'm no gym bunny since taking up running a couple of years ago and finally dusting off the set of purple plastic dumb bells my parents bought for me from a car boot sale in 1999, but after a couple of months of ill health and the discovery that my local gym is friendly, not too expensive and most importantly doesn't tie you in to a contract, I thought it was time to give indoor training another shot. Since joining the newly built gym at Brockwell Lido at the end of December I've got a lot for my monthly fee - attending a whole heap of exercise classes, using the gym and spending time luxuriating in the spa area: sauna, steam room and hydrotherapy pool. I've especially enjoyed the rigours of spinning and Boxerfit, watching TV on the treadmill and soothing my aches and pains in the spa afterwards, and there are plenty more classes I'd like to try, with a new timetable starting tomorrow. Other great things about the membership are 1) you can cancel at any time between the 1st and 18th of the month so you're not tied in to 6 or 12 months (though there is a yearly option) and 2) you don't have to complete a gym induction. The instructors are happy to write a program for you and give you an induction if you want one, but if you've ever used a gym before it's nice not to have to. Brockwell Lido is part of Fusion, so you can use the facilities in Camberwell, East Dulwich and Peckham if you like, so swimming is possible even in the winter months. All in all I'm very pleased I've invested in the membership, even if it ends up only being for a few months until the park warms up a bit.

In the summer beautiful in the winter very, very cold!!! Nice place to go anytime of the week. Staff are very helpful, the facilities of the gym are fantastic, the health suite is prefect and you have free parking...! You can't ask for more!!

Fantastic outside pool and great little restaurant that serves simple but beautifully put together brunches and dinners. A must visit.

In a nice location but very pricey for what you get. Frequently very busy with a lot of damaged equipment

Many a happy Summers afternoon can be spent in this huge pool. A healthy mix of local yummy mummys and their sproglets together with the poseurs and loafers and splashers and le soleil worshippers. Its ok y'know!

This is more about the gym which is open all year, as opposed to the pool which is only open in the summer...and when the pump works :( For the fee (not much off a regualr branded gym at around £50pm) the facilities are either average or very good depending on your expectations. Alot of kit that could do with some TLC. No free towels. Tardy staff missing early openings. Great place all considered though. Local vibe and sense of community dominates it. If they could just polish up the customer service it would be excellent.