The hot weather in England never feels as nice as abroad – but a visit to this Lido made it feel like being on holiday
The hot weather in England never feels like the hot weather abroad. In England, a hot day feels sticky, whereas a hot day abroad is easier to deal with as you have the sea or a refreshing swimming pool to jump into and cool off.
On one of the hottest days of the year, alongside my boyfriend, I thought I’d see if going to my local Lido in Peterborough would feel like being on holiday. Also, despite living in Peterborough my whole life, it finally gave me the chance to go to the Lido as I’d never been before.
Another thing that encouraged me even more to finally visit the Lido was that this year it was celebrating 90 years of being open. Peterborough’s Lido is bang in the middle of the city centre and next to Peterborough Crown Court. From the outside, I wouldn’t have thought a big pool could be hidden behind it.
From the entrance, you only get a glimpse into the Lido, and I couldn’t believe how big the pool was before I even entered. I headed through, and all that was in front of me were families of all ages having fun in the pool or soaking up the sun to start off their summer tan.
I couldn’t believe how big the pool was, as I didn’t realise it was 50m long. I was very eager to get into the pool, so I headed to the lockers to drop off my stuff.
Before I went into the pool, I wandered around to see what else was on offer at the Lido. There was the café tucked away in the corner, offering very reasonably priced food and drink.
There’s a separate play park for children and a small pool for kids. There’s also an upstairs bit with some benches overlooking the pool and outside of the Lido.
I especially liked the upstairs bit, as it was quieter and gave you more time to chill in the sun. I went to the pool and swam in the lanes.
I normally swim a few lengths each week, but I’m used to a 25m pool. It was quite a shock swimming one length at 50m!
However, it was still good to try it out and really test my fitness. After our lengths, we headed to the main part of the pool, which was packed with kids and their parents.
We had a bit of a swim to cool down in the sizzling sun. Then, after a dip, we headed upstairs and sat down in the sun.
As we soaked up the sun and chatted away, it felt like being abroad. For once, the British weather felt like that of Spain or Greece.
What felt even more weird was the fact that this was in the city centre. At times, we forgot that we were still in our home city and not in another country.
It was the right temperature to sit there and sunbathe, but if we got too hot, we could just head down to the pool. And if we got peckish or thirsty, there was a cafe only one minute away to get something.
While my partner and I are going abroad in only a few weeks, it has got us excited for our holiday, with the Lido preparing us for the abroad atmosphere and weather. After such a joyous experience at the Lido, I couldn’t believe I had never been here before.
I will definitely be visiting the Lido many more times over the summer – weather permitting, of course. After all, you can’t trust British weather!
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