Serpentine Lido: Prices, Supervision Ratios and the £2.50 Swim

A full day at the Serpentine Lido costs an adult £8.40. Turning up after 4pm costs £2.50.

Same lake, same afternoon, 70% off for arriving late. At £2.50 it is the cheapest outdoor swim in London, undercutting even the £5.00 flat rate at the Hampstead ponds.

The catch is in two words on their own page: sessions after 4pm are offered “if available”. So it is not a guaranteed slot. But if you are nearby on a summer evening, it is worth asking before paying three times as much.

Every published price

Full day: adult £8.40, child £4.15 for ages three to 15, family £17.70, concessions £4.70.

Sessions, 10am to 1.30pm and 2.30pm to 6pm: adult £6.50, child £2.40, family £15.40.

Off-peak: adult £4.70, child £1.70, family £11.80, concessions £3.45.

After 4pm, if available: adult £2.50, child £1.95.

Lockers £2.00. Sunbeds £12.00.

Children under three are free. Carers are free. Concessions cover 16 and 17 year olds, students, and adults over 65, all with valid ID.

The family ticket covers two adults and up to four children.

A sunbed costs more than a day’s swimming

Worth stating on its own. A sunbed is £12.00 and a full day in the water is £8.40.

So the chair beside the lake is £3.60 more expensive than the lake. For a couple, two sunbeds at £24.00 cost more than a family ticket for two adults and four children at £17.70.

The supervision ratios, which nobody else publishes

This is the most useful table on the Royal Parks site and it decides whether your group can swim at all.

Under 16s are not admitted unless accompanied by an adult of 18 or over who is a competent swimmer, and must be directly supervised at all times.

The published adult to child ratios:

Under 3 years: one adult per child.

3 to under 8 years: one adult per two children.

8 to under 14 years: one adult per three children.

14 to under 16 years: one adult per four children.

16 to under 18 years: no supervision required.

Now read that against the family ticket, which is two adults and up to four children. Two adults can supervise four children aged three to eight, exactly at the 1:2 limit, so the family ticket works. But two adults cannot bring four children under three, because that needs four adults. The ticket you can buy and the rule you must obey do not always agree.

It is closed for winter, and people swim in it every day

Both of those are true at once, and the distinction is the whole point.

Checked on 5 October 2026: the Serpentine Lido lists its opening times as closed for winter.

The season runs weekends from mid-May, then daily from June to mid-September. Dates shift slightly year to year, so it is worth checking ahead. That is a shorter public season than Tooting Bec, which runs 1 May to 30 September.

Meanwhile: the Serpentine Swimming Club, the oldest swimming club in Britain, swims in the lido every single day between 5.30am and 9.30am. Including through the winter, and including the famous Christmas Day race.

So the water is swum in 365 days a year. What is seasonal is public access, not the swimming. If you want to swim the Serpentine in January, the club is the route, not the ticket office.

The café stays open when the lido does not

The Lido Café Bar is open 8am to 4pm, Monday to Sunday.

Which means that in October, with the swimming closed, you can still sit at the water’s edge in Hyde Park with a coffee seven days a week. Toilets and changing facilities are on site during the season.

Booking

Booking online is recommended but not essential. At quieter times you can walk up and book in person on the day.

That is a more relaxed position than most London lidos take, and it fits the pricing: the cheap slots are the leftover ones, so walking up is how you find them.

Where it is

The Serpentine Lido, Hyde Park, London W2 2UH.

Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge and Lancaster Gate are all within walking distance, which makes this the most central outdoor swimming in London by a wide margin. Everything else on the list is in a park out in the boroughs.

How it compares

Adult rates for outdoor swimming in London on 5 October 2026:

Serpentine after 4pm: £2.50.

Serpentine off-peak: £4.70.

Hampstead ponds: £5.00 flat.

Parliament Hill: £5.00 to £8.80.

London Fields: £6.40, heated.

Serpentine full day: £8.40.

Brockwell: £9.50.

Charlton: £11.50, heated.

The Serpentine occupies both ends of that list depending on what time you arrive, which no other pool here does.

How to plan it

Cheapest swim in London: after 4pm, £2.50, if a slot is available.

Second cheapest: off-peak, £4.70.

With young children: check the ratios first, because under-threes need one adult each.

Do not buy a sunbed at £12.00 unless you want it more than another day’s swimming.

In winter: it is closed to the public. The Serpentine Swimming Club swims daily from 5.30am if you want to join properly.

In October, for the setting rather than the swim: the Lido Café Bar, 8am to 4pm, every day.

The Serpentine Lido

Address

The Serpentine Lido, Hyde Park, London W2 2UH

Nearest

Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge and Lancaster Gate all within walking distance

Hours

Closed for winter. Open weekends from mid-May and daily from June to mid-September. The Lido Cafe Bar opens 8am to 4pm Monday to Sunday all year

Booking

Online booking recommended but not essential. At quieter times you can walk up and book in person

Price

Full day adult 8.40 pounds, child 4.15, family 17.70, concessions 4.70. Sessions 6.50 adult. Off-peak 4.70 adult and 1.70 child. After 4pm if available, 2.50 adult and 1.95 child. Lockers 2 pounds, sunbeds 12. Under 3s and carers free

Standing

The most central outdoor swimming in London, in the Serpentine in Hyde Park, and home to the oldest swimming club in Britain

How to get in

A full day costs 8.40 pounds and a slot after 4pm costs 2.50, a 70 per cent difference in the same water. A sunbed is 12 pounds, more than a day in the lake. Published supervision ratios run from one adult per child under three to one per four for 14 to 16s, so the family ticket does not cover four under-threes. The Serpentine Swimming Club swims here every day of the year, winter closure included.

Where to go next

The Hampstead ponds and Parliament Hill Lido stay open all year, which the Serpentine does not.

London Fields Lido is the heated winter option, and the lidos page compares the rest. Hyde Park covers the ground around the lake.

Questions we get asked

How much is the Serpentine Lido?

A full day is £8.40 for an adult, £4.15 for a child aged three to 15, £17.70 for a family of two adults and up to four children, and £4.70 for concessions. Sessions are £6.50 adult, off-peak is £4.70, and a slot after 4pm, if available, is just £2.50. Lockers are £2.00 and sunbeds £12.00.

What is the cheapest time to swim at the Serpentine?

After 4pm, at £2.50 for an adult and £1.95 for a child, when sessions are available. That is 70% less than the £8.40 full-day rate and the cheapest outdoor swim in London. Off-peak at £4.70 is the next cheapest.

Is the Serpentine Lido open in winter?

Not to the public. It is closed for winter, opening at weekends from mid-May and daily from June to mid-September. The Serpentine Swimming Club, the oldest in Britain, swims in it every day of the year between 5.30am and 9.30am, including the Christmas Day race.

Can children swim at the Serpentine Lido?

Yes, with supervision. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult of 18 or over who is a competent swimmer, and directly supervised at all times. The ratios are one adult per child under three, one per two children aged three to eight, one per three aged eight to 14, and one per four aged 14 to 16. Over 16s need no supervision.

Do you need to book the Serpentine Lido?

Booking online is recommended to guarantee a place but is not essential. At quieter times you can walk up and book in person on the day, which is also how the cheaper after-4pm slots become available.

Is the Serpentine Lido café open all year?

Yes. The Lido Café Bar opens 8am to 4pm, Monday to Sunday, including through the winter when the swimming itself is closed.