From Issue Four of Hidden Scotland Magazine

Behind the Lens with: Soo Burnell

Portobello’s Victorian swimming baths and Turkish bath.

Printed in Issue Four of Hidden Scotland Magazine, Spring and Summer 2022.

Portobello Swimming Baths are housed in a striking red sandstone building right on the promenade at Portobello beach. The beautiful Victorian pool also houses Edinburgh’s only Turkish Bath, one of three remaining in Scotland.

Inside, a dramatic mahogany tiered gallery runs around the main pool. White cast-iron columns stretch skywards. Light falls through the glass roof and lingers on the water below. White-painted timber beams criss-cross the roof, forming straight lines and angles. The space is vast, cavernous, but feels warm, welcoming. The architecture has a quiet simplicity. The pool feels calm, serene. The gorgeous muted colour palette feels restful. Deep mahogany timber anchors light aqua blues and whites. There is a sense of lightness. A feeling you want to breathe in. It is a space that allows you to breathe out.

The Swimmer is framed in perfect squares by white pillars. Diminutive in this vast space. Dramatic in scale. Graceful in the sun-dappled pool. Serene, weightless, carefree. The white swimming cap and turquoise suit merge with water and light. Mirror images and reflections created everywhere. Pool edge, railings and tiles. She stares ahead to the glass ceiling. Preserved in time.

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