These stunning photos offer a look back at Merseyside's long lost lidos that are now consigned to the history books.

A day out at the local lido used to be a staple of British summertime - and you were spoilt for choice if you fancied a day by the pool in Merseyside.

At their height of popularity, there were more than 300 lidos and open-air swimming pools in Britain, including many right here in Merseyside, which are sadly no longer around today.

Whether they were reclaimed by nature during adverse weather conditions or closed after years of dwindling popularity, all our local lidos have since closed or been demolished.

There are so many lidos we've loved and lost in Merseyside over the years, from Ainsdale Lido to New Brighton Baths.

We took a look back at some of the lidos we remember so fondly - and what stands in their places today.

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New Brighton Baths

The star of the first heat of the Ladies 220 yds
The star of the first heat of the Ladies 220 yds. championship race at New Brighton Baths. Left to right: H.M Yate (Port of Portsmouth S.C), D. Hutton (Border City S.C.), E.M.H Deane (Gt. Yarmouth S.C), E. Hill (Croydon Ladies S.C.) and M. Hancock (Weston Super Mare Lades S.C.) August 1946,

New Brighton Baths was opened by Lord Leverhulme in 1934 and became the largest lido in Britain.

It was so impressive there was once talk of holding the Olympic Games there.

Over the years, it played host to wrestling competitions, midnight bathing, dances and the Miss New Brighton contest.

In 1984, ITV staged a spectacular outdoor concert at the pool called New Brighton Rock.

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The concert starred Nik Kershaw, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Spandau Ballet, the Weather Girls and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in a four-day musical extravaganza.

By the 1980s, with the ferry link from Liverpool gone, attendances were down to 30,000 from their 1970s peak of 80,000.

It was demolished after a storm in 1990 damaged its structure and council bosses said it was too expensive to repair.

New Brighton baths in 1972
New Brighton baths in 1972

In 2011, the shopping and leisure complex Marine Point opened its doors on the site of the former lido.

The development which cost around £65 million, included a casino, a Morrisons supermarket and a cinema.

The following year, work began on building the kids entertainment centre Bubbles' World of Play in the former Lido building which still remains there today.

Ainsdale Lido

Ainsdale's lido, which opened in 1933 at a cost of £30,000, was initially known as Ainsdale Bathing Centre.

During the Second World War, the lido and much of the seafront area were turned into a naval base.

Although there were attempts to revive the lido, it failed to replicate its earlier success.

Ainsdale Lido, Picture circa 1930
Ainsdale Lido, Picture circa 1930

The lido was used as a cafe and licensed premises and dance nights were held there in the 1980s.

It was sadly demolished in 2007.

The site of the former Lido is located close by to Toad Hall, a popular nightclub which has been left crumbling after decades of lying empty.

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Hoylake Baths

Hoylake bathing pool. Pic dated 1935
Hoylake bathing pool. Pic dated 1935

Hoylake's lido on the promenade opened in June 1913 and was refurbished in the late 1920s at a cost of £25,000, re-opening in 1931.

In 1976 the council closed Hoylake Baths after the site suffered storm damage but it was reopened by Hoylake Pool Trust.

A run of bad weather and a lack of funding saw the baths closed down six years later, and they were demolished in 1984.

Derby Pool, Wallasey

Derby Pool, Wallasey
Derby Pool, Wallasey

Crowds flocked to the Derby Bathing Pool on Harrison Drive in Wallasey when it opened in 1932 at a cost of £50,000.

The ECHO reported at the time: "Wallasey’s £50,000 new bathing pool is certainly drawing the crowds and the shore is invaded on sunny Sundays by thousands who come by ferry, bus, tram and train.

"The popularity of the new pool is amazing – policemen are needed to control the queues."

Swimming Gala and races at the Derby Swimming Pool in Harrison Drive, Wallasey. Circa 1935
Swimming Gala and races at the Derby Swimming Pool in Harrison Drive, Wallasey. Circa 1935

Smaller than New Brighton Baths, it was hugely popular for decades but eventually closed in the 1980s because of declining visitor numbers and repeated storm damage.

Today, the site of Derby Bathing Pool is home to a Harvester pub and restaurant called the Derby Pool.

Parkgate Pool

Parkgate's outdoor pool was built by

Mostyn House

School in 1923.

It was constructed as a facility for the school, but it was also open to the paying public. It became a big attraction, but with the silting of the River Dee, the water supply it needed disappeared.

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The cost of pumping the water into the pool increased as the water level fell and the baths closed in 1942.

It reopened in 1947 due to popular demand, but the fees for piping and pumping the water was too much and it closed for good in 1950.

The site of Parkgate pool is now a car park for Wirral Country Park.

Southport Sea Bathing Lake

Southport's first bathing pool first opened in 1914 and a new and improved design on Princes Park was opened by the Earl of Derby on May 17 1928.

It was 330ft long and 212ft wide, cost £70,000 to build and could seat more than 2,500 spectators.

The shape resembled a Roman amphitheatre, with a cafe covered by a glazed dome roof. A 230ft by 12ft covered arcade ran around the sea-facing side of the lake.

Southport Sea Bathing Lake
Southport Sea Bathing Lake

It was filled with filtered seawater by a pumping system, which was upgraded in the 1960s at a cost of £35,000.

In 1969 Black Sabbath, headed by Ozzy Osbourne, played to huge crowds from a platform in the middle of the pool.

By the early 1980s, Sefton Council was losing around £40,000 a year on the pool and it was leased out to a private operator for the next four years. Other ventures on the site failed and it closed in 1989, fell into dereliction and was demolished in 1993.

Postcard showing just how popular the old Sea Bathing Lake once was
Postcard showing just how popular the old Sea Bathing Lake once was

The site of the original 1914 bathing pool was redeveloped as Peter Pan’s Playground and Pool and later became Ocean Plaza.

The Ocean Plaza development transformed Southport's iconic Seafront when it opened in 2002.

Today, retail and leisure facilities on the site include a Vue cinema and poplar restaurants like Pizza Express and Nando's.

New Ferry Outdoor Baths

No photos of this swimming pool exist in the ECHO archives, but its site by Shorefields is now a housing estate.

It was hugely popular with local children in the summer months and was known for its high diving board.

Port Sunlight Open Air Swimming Pool

Summer 1953 at Port Sunlight Open-Air Swimming Pool, where Levers soap-works office and factory staff are enjoying a lunchtime dip
Summer 1953 at Port Sunlight Open-Air Swimming Pool, where Levers soap-works office and factory staff are enjoying a lunchtime dip

Port Sunlight village once had its own open air swimming pool next to where the garden centre now is.

It was open to the public in the summer months and had dedicated sessions for employees from the Lever factory. The pool closed in the 1970s.

This photo from the summer of 1953 shows staff from Levers enjoying a dip.

Rivacre Baths

Rivacre Valley country park and nature reserve in Ellesmere Port was once the site of a massive outdoor swimming pool which attracted visitors from all over Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales.

The baths opened in 1934 and were a huge hit but gradually fell into decline as visitor numbers dwindled.

They closed in 1981 and were demolished in 1985.