For those who watched Robson Green’s Wild Swimming TV programme earlier this year, you may recall he swam in Plymouth’s Tinside Lido with Bob Holman and Dave Pratten. Bob & Dave love Lidos so much that a couple of years ago they swam a mile in 100 of Britain’s finest in aid of Save the Children. We asked Bob to share his memories of Guildford:

Guildford Lido
Lido 7: Sunday 10th. June 2007
We arrived at Guildford Lido to be greeted by a very friendly lifeguard who let us in for free as we were swimming for Save the Children. What a wonderful pool: feels like I’ve died and gone to heaven: 50 metres long, water quality excellent.

It had well cared for grass terraces set in 3 acres of landscaped gardens and seemed to represent a charm of a bygone age. Many people including families were picnicking, sunbathing or just lazing around in the pool. The whole place was immaculate and the staff and patrons clearly took a real pride in the place. We completed our mile swim in good time, around 25 minutes for Dave and 28 minutes for me (well he is younger than me!). We got out to a super cup of coffee from the cafe and Sally took the obligatory photo for the record. Great part of the day!