*click for larger
I’ve featured the old Hoylake Swimming Baths several times over the years, but I thought this photo was worth a share.
I like this one because it not only shows a view of the pool that I’ve not seen before. The pool is busy with sun bathers, swimmers and on-lookers and you get to see what the building looked like from the inside. Outside of the pool you can see boats moored on the shore and the long-gone building at the end of Meols Parade Gardens. The flag blowing in the wind suggests a breezy day and maybe it was a cloudy day over toward the north Liverpool coast.
Looking at the houses on North Parade it looks like the bottom of Deneshey Road was sand hills?
I bet that water was bloody freezing …I’d definitely be forgetting my swimming trunks!
I used to HAVE to go to the baths when I was at West Kirby Grammar School… Once a week in the ‘summer’ we had a swimming lesson… I think it was quite early in the day. I do know that it was SO cold even in the summer.
Taking my cold.wet swimming costume off in those cold cubicles shivering all the way back to West Kirby.’Put me off swimming for the rest of my life….Now nearly seventy years later in Brisbane Australia I still treat the water with respect and a ‘TINY” paddle in the ocean is all I require. even if the water is abvout 25 degrees. Never never learnt to swim even though I lived SO near to Hoylake Baths……I blame it all on those swimming lessons with the Grammar school.!!!!!!!!!
I remember the cold water and never learnt to swim
I love the way the original steps took males and females out of their changing rooms directly into the water. This changed of course to corner steps up by the fountain and ladders elsewhere. Many, many happy hours spent there, oh and the joy of getting your swimming contract for the new season. Happy Days!!
I remember my Dad taking me to Hoylake baths one evening in summer 1963 – I was 13 at the time. The water wasn’t cold, the water temp. was displayed and on that day it was 68F (20C). This was despite summer ’63 being generally cool and disappointing. I was dismayed to learn that the lido was demolished in the 80s – I thought it was listed?
Had some happy summers at the baths, contracts were freely exchanged and even tossed down from the balcony to your pal outside!
Played water polo when water was ccccoooold..brr but still here to tell the tale..
Yes the water was always freezing. We spent most of the time ‘sunbathing’ on the concrete surrounds. I was taught to swim there by Charlie Tranter. His club sessions mainly consisted of handicap races across the width of the pool. Needless to say I was always one of the first to start. Charlie also was a diving coach and I can remember watching his pupils practicing. The top board was immensely high to us youngsters and it took a lot of courage even to jump off it. I came across Charlie much later in life when I had moved down south and he was a National Diving Judge with the ASA