Summer season at lido celebrating 90th year
BBCA restored art deco lido built in 1935 has opened for its summer season as it marks it 90th year.
The pool was closed for a deep clean and heating before its reopening on Saturday for the official start of the summer season.
Droitwich Spa Lido manager Seb Parker said the pool took saltwater from a well in the spa town and had water features including mushrooms, canons and pineapple trees.
He said brine pumped into the pool directly from the well was "100% stronger" than sea water, adding: "We put enough in the pool, not so it's going to make you float, but you'll taste it when you're in there."
The water gets heated during the summer and is currently up to 20C (68F), but in the winter, when people visit for cold swimming, it can go down to 3C (37F).
"We're open all year round. We're actually really popular in the winter – wild swimming and cold water swimming is a big thing now," he said.
He said in good weather visiting the lido was "just like going to the seaside", adding: "You don't realise you're in the middle of a park, in the middle of a town."
Its history over nine decades has included a grand opening by a film star, closures during World War Two - and then the pool shut in 1999 before restoration was planned, he said.
All the buildings in the restored pool are the same as they were before, he added.
Wychavon District Council and the Friends of Droitwich Spa Lido group have put a book together, containing memories of the pool, with pictures and stories gathered from over the years.
"Everyone can remember growing up here," he said. "It was a thing you did in the summer, like 'what shall we do today?', 'oh, we'll go to the lido'.
"You'd just come down with your mates, leave your bikes outside, go swimming, pop out for some chips and then come back in again for the afternoon."
Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.