Portsmouth is surrounded by water, but not everyone wants to brave the Solent. For a proper swim the city has a good spread of pools, from a seafront fun pool with flumes to serious lane swimming, a quiet warm-water pool and a restored open-air lido that is one of the south coast’s hidden gems.
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Here is a guide to where you can swim across Portsmouth, what each pool is best for and what to know before you turn up with a towel.
Indoor pools and leisure centres
For families, the Pyramids on Southsea seafront is the fun choice. The leisure pool comes with flumes, a wave machine and shallow areas for little ones, which makes it a reliable rainy-day outing with the beach right outside. It gets busy at weekends and in the holidays, so it pays to check session times before you set off.
If you want to swim lengths rather than splash about, the Mountbatten Centre at Hilsea is the city’s main pool for proper swimming, lessons and galas, while the modern Ravelin Sports Centre near the university is open to the public on a day pass and adds a sauna and steam room. For a quieter, warmer swim, the Oasis pool on the Queen Alexandra Hospital site in Cosham is a well-kept favourite, clear and warm, and cheap for non-members.
Outdoor swimming at Hilsea Lido
The jewel of Portsmouth swimming is Hilsea Lido, a 1930s open-air pool on London Road that was saved and lovingly refurbished after years of uncertainty. The long outdoor pool now has shallow areas the children love, a sauna, grass to sit on and a cafe, and the whole place draws a friendly mix of serious swimmers and splashy dippers. Reviewers rave about the welcome and the summer atmosphere.
Two things to know: it is pay-as-you-go and family friendly, but the best slots book up days ahead in summer, and the water is not always heated, so it can be bracing. For cold-water fans and lido lovers, that is half the appeal.
One returning swimmer summed up the mood of the place.
You do a few lengths in the fresh air, warm up in the sauna, then sit on the grass with a coffee, it feels like a proper day out, not just a swim.
Few pools anywhere give you that, and it is right in the middle of the city.
Pools just outside the city
If your local pool is booked up or closed for a gala, several more sit a short drive away:
- Gosport Leisure Centre, across the harbour, with a good pool and lessons;
- Horizon Havant, a large leisure centre with a family pool to the east;
- Fareham Leisure Centre, a short drive north with pools and classes.
All three are worth keeping in mind for a weekend when the Portsmouth pools are full.
Which pool suits you?
The right pool depends on whether you are there to play, to train or to relax:
| Pool | Area | Best for |
| Pyramids | Southsea seafront | Family fun, flumes and waves |
| Mountbatten Centre | Hilsea | Lane swimming and lessons |
| Ravelin Sports Centre | City centre | A modern swim with sauna |
| Oasis, Cosham | Cosham | A quiet, warm, cheap swim |
| Hilsea Lido | Hilsea | Open-air swimming in summer |
Between them they cover everything from a toddler’s first splash to a serious morning in the lanes.
Before you go
A little planning makes for an easier swim, whichever pool you pick:
- book online ahead for popular sessions, as public swims and the Lido fill up fast in summer;
- expect to pay roughly 5 to 7 pounds for an adult swim, with family and off-peak deals, and check the current price before you go;
- take a pound coin or a padlock for the lockers, which many centres still use;
- pack for cooler water at Hilsea Lido, as it is not always heated.
Sort those out and a Portsmouth pool is one of the easiest and cheapest days out in the city, whatever the weather.
