THE Friends of Otley Lido (FoOL) opened up the gates of the old derelict Otley outdoor swimming pool and offered the public a rare glimpse behind the scenes of Otley Lido on Saturday, September 14 as part of the Heritage Open Day Scheme.
The Heritage open day scheme is a national scheme and is England's largest community led festival of history and culture, involving thousands of local volunteers and organisations. Every year in September it brings people together to celebrate their heritage, community and history. Stories are told, traditions explored, and histories brought to life. It is a chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences and is all free to people who attend.
The Friends of Otley Lido have been working hard to restore the outdoor pool as a working Lido fully heated and all year round venue. It was first opened in 1924, 100 years ago as part of the Wharfemeadows Park in Otley and sadly closed in 1993 and has laid derelict since then.
Expecting a couple of hundred guests, the Friends were delighted to receive over 630 people who came to the lido on a day of rare September sunshine. It was full of families and visitors and dogs who came along to see the Heritage Open Day put on by the Friends of Otley Lido.
Katie White MP for Leeds North West opened the event along with Leonie Sharp from the Friends of Otley Lido. Katie told the guests she has known about the project for a number of years and is fully behind the group to restore the Lido. They were also joined by the Leader of Otley Town Council Richard Hughes and City Councillors Colin Campbell and Ryk Downes.
Around the old pool the volunteers had painstakingly curated an archive of old photographs in the site of where the original photos had been taken. They were positioned around the pool and the outside of the site along the river and by the old bowling green.
Visitors could take part in self guided tours or were treated to guided tours throughout the day by Ian Lawson, Director of the Friends of Otley Lido who gave information about the history of the Lido and shared ideas about the future of the site which the community volunteers are determined to restore for their town.
The committee served up a proper Yorkshire treats of bacon sandwiches and pastries in the morning and sausage rolls and pork pies from Weegmamns, a local butcher along with home baked treats of brownies and cakes made by the committee members themselves.
The visitors were delighted with the curated archive of old photographs which were placed around the pool and surrounding in the park to commemorate the 100 years of the pool's opening. Many of the guests had shared their photos in advance or had delighted in finding themselves in old pictures.
At the end of the tour the visitors were shown an old 1950's film on a loop in one of the old buildings of Ian Forrest's family who came in from Beeston, Leeds for a special day trip out and captured it on old cinematic film which was incredibly nostalgic for all who saw it. Ian Forrester also came along and said that it was so moving for him to see the film played at the site it was originally filmed in it brought him to tears.
Leonie Sharp, Chair of the Friends of Otley Lido said: "It was such an overwhelmingly moving event with so many people coming down and sharing their memories and their hopes for our Lido. We met people who recognised themselves on the old photographs, who saw themselves in the film and who remembered so many special times they had in the Otley Baths when it was up and running. It was a really emotional day for us all as volunteers meeting people with their first hand memories when the baths were open and was such a part of our community."
The Friends of Otley Lido have commissioned a local filmmaker Mark Currie of Catapult Films who was in attendance on the day and captured live interviews on site of people who attended and their memories including Sheila Furness who brought down her swimming certificates from the Otley Baths in 1960 who shared her 'Intermediate certificate for the practical knowledge of rescue, releasing oneself from the clutch of the drowning and the render aid in resuscitating the apparently drowned'.
Some testimonials:
Amanda Mercer said: "It was amazing to go in again and see parts of the original pool. Lots of memories."
Janet Thackwray said: "Had a lovely time looking round and seeing myself in three photos. Great memories."
Lyn Jennings said: "Thanks for holding it, we really enjoyed looking around. My husband learned to swim there and spent many a happy hour there as a youngster."
Patrick and Vanessa said: "My wife and I met here in the late 70's and in 2027 it will be our golden wedding anniversary, we spent many a happy time here and can't wait to get back in the water."
Leonie Sharp added: "It was an amazing day and really special for all our volunteers and of course our guests. To see behind the scenes of our lido is a rare and special event for many and shows why we are so passionate. We hope to hold future open days but in the meantime we are very busy with our plans to restore the lido and this event has just made us ever more determined because we know how much it means to our community and for our town. People can follow our progress on our website at www.otleylido.com."
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