An adult swim at Charlton Lido is £11.50. The same swim at London Fields Lido, run by the same company, is £6.40.
Both are 50-metre heated outdoor pools. Both are Better centres. One costs nearly twice the other, and the reason is that Charlton is not really a lido but a lido inside a leisure club, with a gym, tennis courts, studios, a sauna, soft play and a BMX race track attached.
If you only want to swim lengths, that is £5.10 you are paying for a building you will not use.
The sauna includes the pool, and the pool does not include the sauna
This is the genuinely useful finding and it is stated plainly on their own price page.
A one-hour sauna session includes access to the swimming pool.
So a sauna booking buys you both. If you then want longer in the water than the sauna hour covers, an extra swimming session is £11.50 for an adult and £5.50 for a senior aged 60 or over.
Two conditions attached. Collect a wristband from reception before scanning through the gate and wear it for the session, so staff can see the booking is valid.
And the one that catches people: Wellhub memberships do not include sauna access. To use the sauna on a Wellhub membership you must book and pay for a standard swim session, which then gives you sauna access. The relationship runs the opposite way round from everyone else’s booking.
Adults pay more than double what everyone else pays
Adult: £11.50.
Senior 60 and over: £5.50.
Junior 3 to 15: £5.50.
The gap is unusually wide. A senior or a child pays 48% of the adult rate here. At London Fields a junior pays about 55% of the adult rate, and the adult rate there is £6.40 rather than £11.50.
So a grandparent and grandchild swim here for £11.00 between them, which is less than one adult. For a family of two adults and two children it is £34.00, where London Fields would be £20.30.
The weekend is six hours shorter than a weekday
Monday to Thursday 6am to 10pm. Friday 6am to 8pm. Saturday and Sunday 8am to 6pm.
That is sixteen hours on a Monday and ten on a Sunday. Friday closes two hours earlier than Thursday, which is the change most likely to spoil a plan, and the weekend starts two hours later and finishes four hours earlier.
The gym runs the same shape: Monday to Thursday 6am to 10pm, Friday 6am to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am to 5pm, so the gym shuts an hour before the building does at weekends.
Tennis courts: Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 4pm. Five hours shorter at the weekend, on floodlit courts, at £6.00 for an adult hour which is the best value on the entire price list.
Different parts of the building keep slightly different hours, which the centre says itself, so check the specific facility rather than the headline time.
The Terrace: adults only, and the price depends where you joined
The sunbathing terrace has the strangest pricing here and it is worth setting out, because it punishes loyalty to the wrong branch.
It is strictly 16 and over, must be pre-booked, and no children are allowed on it at any time.
Free if you hold an Adult UK-Wide, Corporate UK or Inclusive membership with Charlton Lido as your home centre.
£8.00 if you hold a Charlton swim, student or senior membership.
£28.00 if you hold a membership at any other Better centre, which is a 30% discount, and that applies even if you have the full Adult UK-Wide membership.
Read that last line again. The same membership that gets the terrace free at Charlton costs £28 if you signed up at a different Better branch. Beds are limited and sessions must be booked regardless.
Everything else, as published
Gym: £14.00 adult. Gym induction: £20.00 for 30 minutes, £30.00 for 60.
Fitness classes: £12.00. Table tennis: £12.00.
Tennis: £6.00 an adult hour.
Soft play: £5.00 or £6.50. Toddlers World sessions are parent-supervised and for under 5s only.
Lockers: a 30p token, available contactless at reception, or bring your own padlock.
That locker detail is worth noting against London Fields, where the same company asks for a £1 coin or a £1.50 reusable token. Charlton is cheaper and takes a card.
A BMX track and an open-air cycle studio
Two facilities you will not find at any other London lido.
A BMX race track and an open-air group cycle studio, alongside the 50-metre heated outdoor pool, a separate teaching pool, a gym, indoor studios, a calm studio for barre and similar, a sun terrace, a sauna and a café.
Group exercise covers yoga, Pilates, group cycle, HIIT, boxfit and dance fitness.
It is the only one with a car park
Hornfair Park, Shooters Hill Road, Greenwich, London SE18 4LX.
25 parking spaces, 2 of them disabled bays, paying, at £1.50 per hour.
London Fields lists no car park at all. So for anyone driving, Charlton is the practical choice of the two, and three hours of parking costs £4.50 on top of the £11.50 swim.
Charlton is the nearest station. Buses 89, 178 and 386. Bike storage for 12.
Accessibility is the fullest of the London lidos: adapted for wheelchairs, disabled toilet, accessible parking, poolside hoist, ramp access, accessible changing and a lift.
Run by Better in partnership with the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Book online or through their app before visiting.
How to plan it
Only swimming: go to London Fields instead and save £5.10.
Want a sauna: book the sauna, not the swim, because the hour includes pool access.
On a Wellhub membership: book and pay for a swim first, which is the only route to the sauna.
With a child or a grandparent: £5.50 each, which is where this place is genuinely good value.
Driving: this is the one with a car park, at £1.50 an hour.
Cheapest thing here: an hour of floodlit tennis at £6.00.
Not Friday evening, when it closes at 8pm rather than 10pm.
Charlton Lido and Lifestyle Club
- Address
- Hornfair Park, Shooters Hill Road, Greenwich, London SE18 4LX
- Nearest
- Charlton, with buses 89, 178 and 386
- Hours
- Monday to Thursday 6am to 10pm, Friday 6am to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am to 6pm. Gym closes 5pm at weekends. Tennis Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm and Saturday to Sunday 9am to 4pm
- Booking
- Online or through the Better app. Sauna sessions need a wristband collected from reception. The Terrace must be pre-booked and is 16 plus only
- Price
- Adult swim 11.50 pounds, senior 60 plus and junior 3 to 15 both 5.50. Gym 14 pounds, fitness classes 12, tennis 6 an hour, table tennis 12, soft play 5 to 6.50. Lockers 30p token. Parking 1.50 an hour
- Standing
- A 50-metre heated outdoor pool inside a leisure club, with a sauna, floodlit tennis, a gym and a BMX race track
How to get in
A one-hour sauna booking includes pool access, so the sauna is the cheaper way in. Wellhub memberships are the exception and must pay for a swim to reach the sauna. Adults pay 11.50 against 5.50 for seniors and children, and the Terrace is free to Charlton members but 28 pounds to members of other Better centres. The only London lido with its own car park.
Where to go next
London Fields Lido is the same chain at £6.40, heated to 24°C and open seven days until 9pm.
Parliament Hill Lido is 60 metres and unheated, and the lidos page compares the rest.
Questions we get asked
How much is Charlton Lido?
£11.50 for an adult swim, and £5.50 for a senior aged 60 or over or a junior aged 3 to 15. That makes the adult rate nearly double London Fields Lido's £6.40, because Charlton is a full leisure club rather than just a pool.
Does the Charlton Lido sauna include swimming?
Yes. A one-hour sauna session includes access to the swimming pool. Extra pool time beyond that is charged at the standard rate of £11.50 for an adult and £5.50 for a senior. You collect a wristband from reception before going through the gate.
Can you use the Charlton Lido sauna on a Wellhub membership?
Not directly. Wellhub memberships do not include sauna access, so you must book and pay for a standard swim session, which then gives you sauna access.
What are Charlton Lido's opening times?
Monday to Thursday 6am to 10pm, Friday 6am to 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday 8am to 6pm. Friday closes two hours earlier than Thursday, and the weekend is six hours shorter than a weekday. Individual facilities can differ slightly.
Is there parking at Charlton Lido?
Yes, 25 spaces including 2 disabled bays, charged at £1.50 per hour. It is the only London lido with its own car park, and there is bike storage for 12.
How much is the Terrace at Charlton Lido?
Free for Adult UK-Wide, Corporate UK and Inclusive members whose home centre is Charlton. £8.00 for Charlton swim, student and senior members. £28.00 for members of any other Better centre, even those holding the full Adult UK-Wide membership. It is 16 and over only and must be pre-booked.
Is Charlton Lido heated?
Yes, the 50-metre outdoor pool is heated and draws swimmers year-round. There is also a separate teaching pool for lessons.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 268 in the guide.
Last checked 5 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
