Ruislip Lido {exploring the local area}

We spent the morning at Ruislip Lido, a reservoir and artificial beach in Ruislip, within the London Borough of Hillingdon. It’s a really lovely place to visit, situated between Ruislip Common, Ruislip Woods, and Poors Field, an historic part of Ruislip.

Originally opened as a feeder reservoir for the Grand Junction Canal in 1811, the reservoir was reopened in 1933 as a lido, with facilities for swimming and boating. Today you’re no longer allowed to go swimming or boating but there’s a splash park, playground, outdoor gym, beach area and lovely walk around the lido.

We’ve visited the Lido since the children were little and it’s pretty flat so have walked, cycled and scooted round it. You can walk the whole way round which takes us just over an hour with the children constantly stopping to play and explore.

It’s well used by dog walkers and runners and we often spot people who’ve been round more than once whilst we’re just stopping to admire the view! The children have plenty to keep them busy which makes it the perfect place to take friends when people come to visit

There are plenty of places to eat and drink too although as it’s so close to home we’ve only tried the San Remo cafe so far. They also have branches at Northala Fields and Black Park which I can recommend!

Ruislip Lido is free to visit although parking can be a bit of a nightmare. New parking restrictions have recently been introduced which I hope will help. Weekends in the Summer can be a nightmare so my top tip would be to park near one of the other entrances and walk through Ruislip Woods.