Our photograph takes us back 55 years to a halcyon day at Tynemouth Outdoor Pool.
It was May 1966 and British seaside resorts, including those in the North East, were still in full swing and had yet to feel the decline that would arrive in later decades.
The pool’s story began in the inter-war years.
During the 1920s and '30s, as the people of Britain enjoyed greater leisure time, more than 200 lidos and pools were built across the country.
One of these was Tynemouth Outdoor Pool, at Sharpness Point, which opened in the blazing summer of 1925.
One newspaper report from Monday, July 13 that year gives an insight into its immediate popularity.
"There were thousands of visitors at the coast on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, both at Whitley Bay and Tynemouth.
"The Tynemouth Pool proved a big attraction on both days. The terraces were thronged with spectators, chairs being at a premium, whilst there was also a great demand for dressing accommodation.
"There were enthusiasts swimming and diving in the pool until close upon midnight on Saturday."
There had been calls to build a pool here since around 1905 after several people drowned swimming in the sometimes dangerous North Sea.
Originally a salt water tidal pool, for decades it was a popular venue for local families and day-trippers.
It would host regular swimming galas and competitions, and was a magnet for thousands.
Terraces were designed to hold up to 2,000 people, and visitors could hire tents to use as changing rooms - and retain their modesty.
But times, tastes and trends change and the pool began to slowly fall out of favour in the 1970s and '80s.
With the rise of foreign holidays, the opening of a nearby indoor pool, fewer outdoor bathers, and the mounting cost of cleaning and repairs, the pool was finally closed in the mid-1990s.
In 1996 the council made a botched effort to revamp the pool with the intention of converting it to a ‘rock pool’ by scattering it with large stones and boulders.
The neglect continued, however, and what had been a fine outdoor lido soon became a controversial eyesore.
In recent years, Friends of Tynemouth Outdoor Pool have been working to revive the run-down site. Check out their Facebook page - Tynemouth Outdoor Pool - which publicises the group’s efforts to bring the pool back to life.
Check out our Memory Lane local history website that's packed with archive photographs and has an easy-to-use picture colourisation tool.
