Stonehaven Open Air Pool – a Lido Swim and a Fish Supper
A few hours.
The route
Stonehaven's open-air pool is a 1930s Art Deco lido at the north end of the seafront, an Olympic-sized pool of heated seawater with sun terraces all round it.
Swim as long as you like, let the little ones loose in the paddling pool, then stroll along the promenade to The Bay for a fish supper by the sea.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Stonehaven
A long swim in warm seawater under the open sky, with the North Sea just over the wall. Then a fish supper from a little blue takeaway three minutes along the front.
About three hours
Stonehaven Outdoor Pool
An attraction
Stonehaven Open Air Pool is in Queen Elizabeth Park at the north end of the seafront, with plenty of free parking beside it. It opened in 1934 and calls itself the UK's only Art Deco Olympic-sized seawater lido, and the water is heated. It opens for the summer only: in 2026 the season ran from 30 May to 6 September, and the 2027 dates aren't out yet, so check the pool's website before you go. In 2026 it opened on weekdays from 1pm (from 10am in the peak weeks of July and August) and at weekends from 10am. Pay at reception: £10.40 for an adult, £6.90 for juniors aged 6 to 18, seniors and students, and £28.10 for a family of four at 2026 prices, with under-5s free alongside an adult. Under-8s have their own paddling pool and must have an adult with them, and the big chute is only for those who can swim. Bring a £1 coin for the lockers. It's step-free, with ramps, an accessible changing room and a poolside hoist, and there's a Changing Places toilet in the leisure centre next door.
About 3 min on foot
The Bay Fish & Chips
Supper
The Bay Fish & Chips is three minutes' walk south along the promenade from the pool, a pale blue shopfront with a takeaway window, and there's often a queue. Its haddock comes fresh from the North Sea, there's a gluten-free range every day, and it's open every day from noon to 8pm. Carry your fish supper along the promenade or down onto the beach. If the queue is long, the Splash Cafe at the pool serves hot food and home bakes, and anyone can go in.
If it rains
The pool is heated and its own page calls it a trip for any weather; only the walk along the promenade to The Bay is out in the rain, so on a wet evening take your fish supper back to the car.
Photograph by Louise “LetsDoShotsPhotography” via Google