Hello lovely supporters,
It really is a pleasure to see the number of pledgers continuing to grow despite the tailing off of the lido season in so many parts of the coutnry. Many pools are now closed for the winter, although London is well blessed with year round outdoor swimming opportunities those of us outside London are iften reconciled to moving back indoors to put in our hard yards over the winter. I'm combining indoor swimming, to try and put some miles back in these lazy shoulders of mine, with weekly swims outdoors wherever I can find them. I really do like it cold, I love the sensation on the skin and the mindfulness that comes from having to focus entirely on what your body is telling you. It's a great way to tune out from the day to day.
As pools begin to close the opportunity for lido road trips decreases, although they don;t have to stop altogether. Some pools, like Buckfastleigh and Portsihead open on reduced hours for cold water swimming. Some are yet to close - if you;re quick you can visit Sandford Parks this weekend; they've turned off thier boilers but there is a lovely sauna cabin on site to warm up afterwards. And Hathersage is open until the end of October - well worth a pilgrimage for the warm water and views of the bandstand and hills. We are also lucky that our tidal pools remain open all year!
Some of you might remember my last shed post, about the National Lido Conference. One of the delegates, Sophie Lovett the chair of Shoalstone Pool's committee, wrote a wonderful piece about her road trip to the conference and the swims she squeezed in around it. She has agreed to us running it as a guest piece for Lido Road Trip, so make a cuppa and enjoy.
And please do spread the Lido Guide love - the quicker we get to 100% funded the quicker you'll be holding your own copy in your hands!
Have great weekends, and if you're heading for a lido please tell us about it. We love a vicarious lido road trip.
Emma.