UK’s largest outdoor freshwater pool reopens this week – here’s how to get free tickets

THE LARGEST outdoor freshwater pool in the UK will reopen this week for the summer season.

Tooting Bec Lido, in London, will reopen on May 1 with two sessions a day for the summer season.

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Some visitors may be eligible for free tickets to the lido.

For each session, the lido also offers 130 free tickets, which are available to eligible residents under Wandsworth's Access for All scheme.

The scheme allows eligible residents 50 to 100 per cent discounts on everything from gym sessions to event tickets.

To be eligible for the Access for All scheme, visitors must be a Wandsworth resident.

In addition, they must either be children in receipt of free school meals (all ages), an asylum seeker or refugee or looked after children or care leavers.

Those on Universal Credit, Jobseekers Allowance, housing benefit, council tax support, Disability Living Allowance, incapacity benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer's Allowance, child and working tax credit, income support, or pension credit are also eligible for the scheme.

Last year, the 90-metre-long pool underwent a £4million refurbishment, with a new pumphouse developed and a modern UV filtration system installed to keep the water clean.

The area around the pool was also refurbished, making it a more welcoming space for those who wish to socialise or sunbathe.

Judi Gasser, cabinet member for environment, called Tooting Bec Lido the "jewel in the crown" of South London's sports facilities, celebrating its popularity and appeal to residents of all ages.

She added: "With a £4million renovation safeguarding its charm and functionality for decades to come, this iconic Lido promises endless fun in the sun for thousands of visitors this summer."

The lido will be open from 10am to 2:30pm and 3:30pm to 8pm, Monday to Sunday.

In order to visit the lido, visitors must register a free membership on the Places Leisure website.

Booking in advance is recommend, as during the summer months the pool does get busy.

Visitors are also allowed to bring their own food, but there is also a customer cafe on site.

However, alcohol is not allowed.

The lido will then close again for summer sessions on September 30.

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Tooting Bec Lido is one of the UK's oldest open-air pools, having opened in July 1906 as 'Tooting Bathing Lake'.

Originally there would be different swim sessions for men and women, with women and girls only allowed to visit one morning a week.

Mixed bathing was then introduced in 1931, but only at specified times.

In 1936, the cafe and cubicles with proper doors were built, and this is when the pool became know as a 'lido'.

Authors and lido enthusiasts Emma Pusill and Janet Wilkinson have spent the last 20 years visiting every lido in the UK.

Plus, the English market town that could get a new lido.

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