logo
Historic UK lido forced to close this week despite upcoming 31C temperatures

Historic UK lido forced to close this week despite upcoming 31C temperatures

The Sun5 days ago
A LIDO in the UK has been forced to close after major flooding over the weekend.
Letchworth Lido in Hertfordshire was forced to close yesterday, despite highs of 31C expected later this week.
2
The lido later posted on Facebook again, stating: "We will remain closed until Thursday 10th July.
"Following today's flood, we have to ensure the site is safe for re-opening."
Operated by Everyone Active, the lido added that they were busy clearing up, despite rain continuing.
The historic lido first opened in 1935 on Norton Common in Letchworth.
Surrounded by grass areas, the pool is heated and stretches 50 metres long.
This year the lido is celebrating its 90th season, having recently undergone upgrades including renewed signage, new parasols, extra seating and refreshed party rooms.
The anniversary is due to be marked by an event on July 26.
Ideal for families, the event will host child-friendly activities, live music, face painting and balloon modelling.
Any kids that are enrolled in Everyone Active's Learn to Swim programme across north Hertfordshire will be invited to experience taster sessions throughout the day.
The sessions would include water polo and synchronised swimming.
Historic 'on-of-a-kind' lido has three heated swimming pools
During the summer months, the destination hosts both family-fun sessions and lane swimming.
For little ones venturing into the water for the first time, there is a shallower learners pool too.
Or for parents who enjoy spectating, there's a sunbathing area complete with loungers for hire.
Then, for when you get peckish, the site also has a small cafe.
Family swim sessions cost £7.60 per adult and £3.80 per child.
Or you can grab a season pass for £100 per child or £200 per adult.
Next to the lido, there is a skate park, bowls green and a number of tennis courts too.
A popular beach town has also revealed multi-million pound plans to save a lido attraction.
Plus, one of the UK's oldest lidos with water slides, sauna & gym is set to stay open all winter under new plans.
2
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

I'm a food pro – 4 common BBQ mistakes can give you food poisoning in hot weather & you need to be careful with coleslaw
I'm a food pro – 4 common BBQ mistakes can give you food poisoning in hot weather & you need to be careful with coleslaw

The Sun

time4 hours ago

  • The Sun

I'm a food pro – 4 common BBQ mistakes can give you food poisoning in hot weather & you need to be careful with coleslaw

THE hot weather means more and more Brits are opting to grill their dinner outdoors. However, be careful not to make these common mistakes that can result in food poisoning. Whether you're enjoying quiet summer barbecue or grilling up a storm for all your friends and family, be careful when preparing your al fresco meal. When it comes to outdoor cooking in these hot conditions, you need to take extra precautions. Certain foods can quickly become dangerous when exposed to the high temperatures and sunlight for too long. "Most people don't realise how quickly warm weather turns food dangerous," Mark McShane, food hygiene expert at Food Hygiene Certificate, told the Express. Chicken, sausages, and burgers "In 30 degree Celsius plus heat, chicken left out for just 30 minutes can begin developing unsafe levels of bacteria – and no, cooking it won't always kill everything," he explained. He went on to say that taking chicken and burgers out of the fridge and leaving them by the barbecue for over too long before cooking places the meat in a "danger zone". According to the expert, the maximum amount of time meat should stay out of the fridge when the weather is between 25 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius is an hour. And when temperatures spike over 30 degrees Celsius, the maximum time is cut in half to just 30 minutes. "We see a spike in food poisoning every time there's a UK heatwave – and it's nearly always avoidable," he explained. "You can't 'see' or 'smell' these bacteria, but they'll ruin your weekend. The 2C method which stops flies plaguing your home and ruining your BBQ "Cook safely, chill properly and when in doubt, throw it out." He added that charred doesn't mean cooked when it comes to grilling up your barbecue staples. This is especially important to remember with chicken, sausages, and burgers. Meat should be cut through to ensure it is safe to eat and if they are pink or the juice isn't clear, that's your sign to put them back on the grill. Coleslaw The expert also warned Brits about another popular barbecue staple – colelsaw. The UK Government have issued some guidelines for staying safe whilst using a barbecue: Keep a bucket of water, sand or a garden hose nearby for emergencies. Follow the safety instructions provided with your gas, charcoal, or disposable barbecue. Never use a barbecue indoors, in a tent, under an awning or in a caravan. Use enough charcoal to cover the base of the barbecue, but not more (normally around 5cms or 2 inches). Keep children, pets and garden games away from the cooking area. After cooking, make sure the barbecue is cool before moving it. Empty ashes onto bare garden soil, not into dustbins or wheelie bins. If they're hot, they can melt the plastic and cause a fire. Make sure your barbecue is well away from sheds, fences, trees, shrubs or garden waste. In the countryside or public park areas, only use disposable barbecues where there are specially designated areas and carefully follow the safety guidance. Enjoy yourself, but don't drink too much alcohol if you are in charge of the barbecue. Never use petrol or paraffin to start or revive your barbecue; use only recognised lighters or starter fuels on cold coals. He revealed that sides made with mayonnaise or dairy "can quickly turn dangerous" if left in the sun. You should also be aware of the dangers of cross-contamination, which the pro said is the most common mistake. Avoid using the same tongs or chopping food for raw and cooked meat as this can cause salmonella infections. More BBQ stories And if you're planning to host a barbecue get together on a smaller balcony, make sure to heed this warning. Another little-known danger could also pose a risk when barbecuing this summer. And barbecue fans can pick up a "no-frills" charcoal grill for just £11 from Argos. 2

Fire breaks out on Surrey nature reserve used in Hollywood films
Fire breaks out on Surrey nature reserve used in Hollywood films

BBC News

time6 hours ago

  • BBC News

Fire breaks out on Surrey nature reserve used in Hollywood films

A large fire has broken out on a nature reserve in Surrey as the UK bakes in its third heatwave of the Fire & Rescue Service said there were16 fire engines at the scene on Hankley Common, in Thursley, in a post on X just before 18:00 said the fire was covering about eight hectares (20 acres) and advised local people to avoid the area and to close windows and Watts, who works at a nearby pet shop, said she could smell smoke at about 16:15BST, shortly after which a fleet of fire engines turned up. She said: "We smelt the smoke and went outside, which is when we saw it billowing up."The fire teams turned up not long afterwards and blocked the road with their vehicles and told people to stay away."She said the firefighters had been working at the scene for a few hours "because the wind keeps picking up and spreading it"."We were handing out water bottles to them because it's such a hot day," she added. A SFRS spokesperson said: "We currently have 16 appliances attending a wildfire on Hankley Common, Thursley. "The fire is covering approximately eight hectares. "Please avoid the area and nearby residents should close windows and doors." In England on Saturday, temperatures peaked at 33C (91.4F) recorded in Ross on Wye, falling short of Friday's peak of 34.7C (94.5F).The latest heatwave has led to hosepipe bans being declared and wildfire warnings are in place across much of the country. Hankley Common has been used as a Hollywood film set, including for the James Bond film Skyfall, the Marvel movie Black Widow, as well as TV series such as Doctor Who and Blackadder Goes is a heathland habitat and home to ground-nesting birds, including nightjars and skylarks.A significant portion of it is owned by the Ministry of Defence, which uses the land for military portion of the area is owned by the Hankley Common Golf Club.

All a bit of a disaster: Yorkshire farmer tells of heat and dry weather impact
All a bit of a disaster: Yorkshire farmer tells of heat and dry weather impact

The Independent

time6 hours ago

  • The Independent

All a bit of a disaster: Yorkshire farmer tells of heat and dry weather impact

A farmer in Yorkshire has said she will struggle to feed her animals after the dry weather and heat slashed her hay yields, adding: 'It's all a bit of a disaster.' Angela Serino is the director of Beetle Bank Open Farm & Wild Sanctuary in York – a small, open, working farm where the public can visit the animals. Beetle Bank – which has goats, pigs, alpacas and rabbits – grows its own hay on 10 acres of land to feed the animals all the way through the winter and until April when its farmers typically buy a few bales until the next hay cut. But with Yorkshire experiencing one of its driest years on record, Ms Serino said Beetle Bank will not be able to operate as usual. 'This year we're expecting to have less than a quarter of the hay that we usually have,' she told the PA news agency. 'Nobody else seems interested around here but it's stressing me out big time because our animals are part of the system. You can't just be without them, and we can't be without food for them.' She continued: 'It's going to mean more animals will have to go than usual. 'Winter's always a bad time for us because we have very little income coming in and now we'll have a massive, massive food bill to find the money for as well because we'll have to feed our animals hard food and hope that there's plenty of that about.' Beetle Bank usually produces around 50 to 70 big bales of hay a year. 'I'm not expecting to have more than about 10 this year looking at the fields,' Ms Serino said. 'That's a couple of thousands of pounds down the drain before you get going never mind the feed that you have to buy in to replace that.' The farm director has been in contact with other farmers in the area who have told her they will have 'very little' hay for sale this year. She told PA that Beetle Bank is looking into an irrigation system to mitigate the impact from dry and hot weather if the same conditions return next year. Ms Serino said: 'Strangely enough I've been thinking about it all spring – this spring when it was really hot and dry, and I was thinking should I go out, should I buy a water canon of some description and you just think that this is Britain and it will change. 'You don't want to spend £5,000 on some sort of water system that sprinkles the fields when you don't have to and at the end of the day I should have just gone and done it then I wouldn't be in the state I'm in today. 'It's all a bit of a disaster to be honest. 'I don't remember being stressed about the winter in the summer before, except for 2019 where it poured with rain from the middle of middle of May until, god, I think February.' Ms Serino is not currently getting any support from the Government, saying it 'doesn't care about farming'. 'In an ideal world, they could go around and give us all a grant for the machinery we need to make what we need,' she said. 'There was a grant going not long ago but it's so difficult to actually apply for these things. There's so many hoops you've got to jump through to actually get something and you have to match the funding. 'Well, if you don't have any money it's very difficult to match funding. 'It's difficult times, and farming is not good.' Besides the issues with hay yields, Ms Serino said the farm has used 'an awful lot more water than usual' this year and has struggled to put up fencing it needed because the ground is 'like a rock'. The hot weather has also impacted revenue from visitors. 'Today and yesterday, we've only half the customers we should have because they don't like this weather,' Ms Serino told PA. 'So when it gets this hot, it has an effect on your revenue as well as your costs. 'We are way down on revenue today. This will be one of the worst Saturdays we've had in a long time.' She said the climate has gone 'completely upside down inside out' in the last five or six years. 'I just sort of saw it coming, but not properly,' she said. 'I saw something coming but not the actual extent that it is until you're sat on the doorstep with it. England so far this year" data-source="Met Office"> 'It's difficult to predict but I didn't really predict that you'd have months and months of no rain. 'I mean, every week you look at the weather and it says rain. I look on my phone now and it says it's raining Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and it just doesn't rain.' Yorkshire and north-east England has seen an average of just 242.8mm of rain so far in 2025 – less than half the amount that had fallen by this stage last year (542.3mm). Cumulative rainfall so far this year is the lowest for this part of the country since 1959, when 238.1mm had fallen by July 9.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store