Hathersage's heated outdoor pool marks 90 years beneath Stanage Edge

There are few better places to swim a length than Hathersage. The village's heated outdoor pool, built in 1936, looks out towards Stanage Edge and Hathersage Church, and in 2026 it marks 90 years of welcoming swimmers.

The pool was designed by architect Cecil Jones and given to Hathersage by George Lawrence, a razor blade manufacturer, along with other local recreational facilities. Lawrence was killed in the Sheffield Blitz in 1940, but his gift has given generations of families a place to enjoy the water.

Measuring 30 metres by 12 metres, the pool keeps its original 1930s character alongside modern changing rooms, heated showers and accessible toilets. A solarium with glass roof panels sits beside it, with an independently run café below, while sunbathing lawns and a children's playground nearby make it an easy place to spend a whole day.

The pool has had real care in recent years. Over the winter of 2019/20, a major refurbishment covered the plant, pipework, pool basin and surround, and it reopened in March 2020. It is owned by the King George's Field charity and run on the charity's behalf by Hathersage Parish Council, with a great deal of help from volunteers.

According to Visit Peak District, heated swimming runs from March to September, with unheated swimming every Saturday in October and November. The pool also runs a busy calendar of events, including night swims with music, a 24-hour summer solstice swim, coffee mornings and a triathlon. Its New Year's Day swim has become a favourite way for hardy locals to jump into the year ahead.

Hathersage itself is a village with plenty of stories. Charlotte Brontë stayed at the vicarage in 1845 while writing Jane Eyre, and the edges above the village have been a nursery for many famous British rock climbers. After a day on the crags or the hills, a warm swim with a view is hard to beat.

The pool is on Oddfellows Road, Hathersage S32 1DU, with free parking nearby. Sessions can be booked through TicketSource, and details are on the Hathersage Swimming Pool website.