Swimming Pools: Walpole Tidal Pool, Margate

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Walpole Bay Tidal Pool encloses four acres worth of the sea between high walls on the Margate sea front at the Cliftonville end. When it opened in 1937 it was the largest pool in the UK, not sure whether it still is but there is plenty of room for swimmers. It tapers from 167 metres wide at the beach end to 91m at the seaward end.  

You can walk in from the beach with the pool getting gradually deeper to a depth of around 2m, or if you walk around the walls there are ladders at various points to get in somewhere deeper

The 'floor' of the pool is the natural beach, essentially you are just swimming in the sea with a bit of protection from the vicissitudes of tides and waves. The pool was originally built to ensure that people could easily swim/play in the water at low tide when people would otherwise have to walk a long way out to reach the water. But at high tide the walls are submerged and the pool is more or less invisible.



On our most recent trip last month we timed our arrival for what we believed was the mid point between high and low tides, but even at this point the waves were beginning to lap over the walls and soon the pool itself was decidedly choppy - with anything left on the beach at risk of imminent disappearance! So to get the best out of this great pool do check tide times and aim to get there nearer to low tide.


A lone paddleboarder after the pool vanishes

Not far away can be seen the remains of the Lido at Cliftonville, opened in the 1920s and closed in the late 1970s. There is a Save Margate Lido community campaign to refurbish this, which would be great, though at present the site remains under private ownership with its future unclear.



Another smaller tidal pool on the main beach at Margate was opened on the same day as the Walpole one in 1937. Although originally built for swimming/bathing it is currently designated as a boating pond and you can get told off for swimming in it. If you choose your moment though a swim is still to be had.


Daily Herald announces 'good news for young bathers' as the country's 'biggest swimming pools' open in June 1937


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