Marine Court, St. Leonards-on-Sea

Marine Court, St. Leonards-on-Sea
... along the prom ...

Saturday 1 February 2020

Sea Pools for Health and Pleasure – article - back to the bathing pool ideas.


Sea water bathing has long been considered healthy and not just as exercise. Saltwater is often recommended for skin conditions including eczema, psoriasis, acne and dermatitis. A saltwater bath may improve circulation, help reduce some types of infection and even ease the symptoms of  arthritis, although some remedies have not been scientifically researched. Nor have certain claims made about less physical maladies; when you read that, ‘a monthly saltwater bath is an easy and very relaxing way to cleanse your aura of negative energy,’ a feeling of scepticism may set in. 




       West St Leonards 2019, temporary sea pool formed in the shingle. Photo Susan Gilbert




However going into the sea is much more fun and more physically invigorating than adding some Saxa to your bathwater.  Swimming in the sea is theoretically easier than in freshwater as the salt helps you float more easily. But not everyone has the stamina to immerse themselves in pounding breakers, contend with stones underfoot and the undertow or battle for space with anglers, kayaks and kite-boarders.  Sea pools must be one answer! The recent publicity for Ocean Pools in New South Wales, Australia is a reminder that we have some of these in the UK, we just don’t boastfully call them Ocean Pools. 

Penzance’s Jubilee Pool in Cornwall is the country’s most spectacular seawater pool, a grand saltwater Lido jutting out into the bay, it will soon be able to boast of having geothermal heating for part of the pool. Most seawater pools are unheated.

Tarlair pool near Banff in Scotland is the UK’s most Northerly Lido, another 1930’s pool which is refreshed with seawater at high tide. Although it has listed status it’s fairly run down these days but the pool is still swimmable and used for other activities including kayaking and model boats .

The Sea Pool at Summerleaze Beach, Bude, Cornwall is a less grand offering, without Art deco flourishes and Listed status. However this partially man-made tidal swimming pool set between the rocks is still delightful, popular and much better maintained than Tarlair. There are several similar pools in the South West including at Perranporth, Polperro and Westward Ho.

Porthtowan tidal rockpool in Cornwall is simply a  largeish rockpool with added concrete walls. There were once steps from above but time and tides have allowed these to crumble so now it’s only accessible via the beach. There are a number of other small, tidal rockpools suitable for bathing around the UK coasts, especially of Cornwall and Devon and, surprisingly, Scotland. These small pools are peaceful and completely unsupervised, also often invisible to passers-by, so care bathers should take care.

At the other end of the scale from the small rockpools is the huge Walpole Bay Tidal Pool in Margate, which covers 4 acres and has concrete walls and a base on the stones and chalk of the beach. While the tides are not high enough to refresh the water absolutely every time, a number of springs come up through the beach stones and keep the water clear.


Strand Pool in Gillingham, Kent has a 125 year history. It is not strictly a sea pool but uses filtered seawater from the mouth of the river Medway. The Strand was originally just a small creek off the Medway estuary opposite Hoo Island. After two boys drowned in the muddy creek a safer swimming pool was created in 1896. In 1935 the council parks committee borrowed £ 8,000 to drain the muddy creek and create two modern, concrete pools. It has been developed further since World War Two and is now a hugely popular, modern leisure pool, still using sea water.

Using seawater for medical purposes has a name, thalassotherapy. However going into the sea for paddling, swimming, splashing, diving, surfing, paddle-boarding and any number of other possible activities has a much shorter name, fun.  A sea pool at West St Leonards would be fun, attract visitors and become as popular with the local community as the old bathing pool once was.  

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Sources include

https://wildswim.com/margate-tidal-pool

 https://www.strandpool.info/history

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/15/outdoor-swimming-lido-social-enterprise

https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2017/06/24/walpole-bay-tidal-pool

htthttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2020/jan/21/water-worlds-the-magic-of-new-south-wales-ocean-pools?

https://jubileepool.co.uk/

http://medwaymonthly.com/

https://www.healthline.com/health/sea-salt-bath#takeaway

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