Helmsley Lido's new sauna officially opened by Sky Sports presenter
Sky Sports presenter and regular swimmer at the pool, Sarah Stirk, has officially opened the new sauna at Helmsley Open Air Pool.
The sauna is a significant investment for the charity run pool, one of only four lidos in Yorkshire.
Julie Heyes, chair of trustees said: “We are delighted with the feedback from our swimmers, the sauna is a key part of the pool’s plan to extend the season into in the autumn and spring and is proving to be very popular.
“We are grateful to Sarah for cutting the ribbon today”.
Built in York, by the Yorkshire Hut Co., the sauna is made from western red cedar, insulated with Cumbrian lambswool and has an upper and lower bench that are south-facing and overlooking the 25m pool.
Julie said: “Our celestial swims are very popular and being within the National Park we are in a dark skies area, so were very pleased the sauna could come with a ‘moon roof’.
Helmsley pool is open heated every day from May to September with its ‘cool pool’ sessions on weekends in October and November.
After the official opening, Sarah went for a swim, with the pool temperature at 21C, joking that “over the summer the lifeguards laughed at me, as sometimes I said 28C felt cold, but now I’m really seeing the physical health benefits of swimming in cooler water, especially when combined with the heat from the Sauna.”
Co-manager of the Pool, Paul Goodwin introduced ‘cool pool’ to the lido back in 2017. He said: “It has been a real success, week after week folks keep coming back, with the pool temperature dropping a couple of degrees each week.
“Already we are seeing that the Sauna is helping people swim for longer, as they alternate between the pool and the sauna.”
In 2016, the pool opened for 75 days, gradually this this has increased with the pool on schedule to open for 152 days in 2025.
Paul said: “We are very grateful to the Yorkshire Hut Co. and local builder Bobby Brewer for moving the Lido up their battling lists to meet our October target date.”
For more information or to book visit www.helmsleyopenairpool.org.
Prices are £6.25 swim only or £12.50 swim and sauna for a 75 minute session that comes with a free hot drink.