Tinside Lido Celebrates Most Successful Summer in Modern History as Visitor Numbers Reach 100,000
The landmark achievement more than doubles 2025 visitor numbers and marks a record-breaking season for Plymouth’s iconic waterfront attraction.
Tinside Lido celebrates the most successful summer in its modern history after welcoming an unprecedented 100,000 visitors during the 2026 season between Saturday 23rd May and Sunday 28th September.
The milestone more than doubles the approximately 47,500 visitors recorded in 2025 and significantly exceeds the 40,000 welcomed in 2018, reflecting the growing popularity of the Grade II listed venue and its evolving offer for residents and visitors alike located in Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.
While visitor numbers tell part of the story, Plymouth Active Leisure says the achievement reflects the broad appeal of Tinside as a destination for recreation, wellbeing, community activity and events.
Throughout the summer, thousands of people visited the site to swim, meet friends, enjoy the waterfront setting and take part in a diverse programme of activities.
But it wasn’t just swimming attracting the visitors with Tinside hosting floating sound baths, sunset silent discos, live music, sunrise and late-night swims, community
activities, corporate events and its first wedding celebration. While the year-round coffee pod café, which opened in 2025 as part of the National Lottery Heritage Funded restoration, served 12,000 coffees and 6,000 ice creams proving a popular waterfront destination.
Plymouth Active Leisure continued its commitment to water safety and youth engagement throughout the summer. Working with the Plymouth City Council Youth Investment Fund to provide Monday Night Youth Swims, dedicated sessions for young people, while the Swim Safe programme funded by Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, helped children develop confidence and essential water safety skills.
Recognising the importance of this work, the season was extended by an additional two weeks to work directly with schools, enabling more children to access water safety education and gain confidence in an open-water environment.
Rhys Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Plymouth Active Leisure, said:
“When people see 100,000 visitors, they see a number. What I see are 100,000 individual moments. Families making memories, friends meeting for a swim, children gaining confidence in the water, couples celebrating milestones and people simply taking time to enjoy one of the most beautiful places in the country.”
“The success of Tinside has never been about the pool alone. It’s about the people who choose to spend their time here and make this place so special. Reaching 100,000 visitors is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of everyone who has played a part in making this the most successful summer in Tinside’s modern history.”
Councillor Kate Taylor, Cabinet member for Finance & Sport, said:
“100,000 visitors! This is just epic news. Staff at Tinside have smashed the ball out of the park and we could not be happier. Tinside is really coming into its own as a destination – not just a place to swim, but to chill, enjoy a coffee, meet up and to enjoy some of the many brilliant events that have been taking place there.
We want Plymouth to be a great place to grow up and to grow old and we see this beautiful pool as a key part in this. It’s at Tinside we give our young people sessions to make them more confident in the water and it’s great just to see people of all ages enjoy it. Well done to the Plymouth Active team and all those event organisers who bring more people in, and an extra special thank you to all the swimmers who have supported this magnificent venue over the entire summer.”
Although the swimming season has now ended, Tinside remains open year-round, with the Coffee Pod, community spaces and events programme continuing to welcome visitors to Plymouth’s waterfront.
And while the 2026 season may have set a new benchmark, Plymouth Active Leisure says there is still more to come from one of the city’s most iconic destinations.
