Sea Lanes Canary Wharf, the capital’s first-of-its-kind floating 50-metre natural water pool, opens its doors to Londoners this Friday at Eden Dock
London’s latest waterside wellness venue, Sea Lanes Canary Wharf, welcomes the public from this Friday.
Providing a fresh approach to swimming, relaxation and reconnecting with water, the facility delivers year-round open water swimming to the capital’s centre with a brand new 50-metre pool floating in the dock.
The six-lane natural water pool represents the capital’s first of its type, featuring saunas running on 100% renewable energy alongside a clubhouse.
Visitors can sample a specially selected food and drink offering, browse a shop selling swimming attire and accessories from Dry Robe, Finisterre and Water Haul, plus fully accessible amenities designed to make open water swimming more inclusive.
Described as an urban sanctuary, the site nestles within the verdant, biodiverse waterfront of Eden Dock following its transformation as part of Canary Wharf’s continuous development.
London’s Deputy Mayor Mete Coban sounded the horn to launch a special relay race at yesterday’s opening event, where local swimming teams became the first to enter the water.
Developed by the team responsible for the UK’s first National Open Water Swimming Centre, Sea Lanes Brighton, in collaboration with CWG and Canal and River Trust, the fully lifeguarded pool is managed by South Downs Leisure.
It provides both membership options and flexible pay-per-swim entry alongside a schedule of coached and training sessions, community events and social swims.
In addition to traditional lane swimming, Sea Lanes will later this year open up the broader expanse of Eden Dock, offering non-lane open water swimming, paddleboarding, freediving, surf-fit sessions and winter scuba programmes.
Conceived to address the surging appetite for outdoor swimming, the sport’s popularity continues to soar throughout the UK, with 6.81 million people taking to outdoor waters annually, amongst them 2.45 million open water swimmers, according to Swim England.
As part of its dedication to broadening access to wellbeing activities, Sea Lanes Canary Wharf will provide a limited number of fully funded memberships via local community organisations.
Discounted memberships and pay-per-swim access will also be available to eligible residents through the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Council’s Be Well scheme, furthering the goal of making outdoor swimming more inclusive and accessible to all.
Joe McNulty, Sea Lanes Director, said: “With growing demand for outdoor swimming facilities, Sea Lanes Canary Wharf provides the freedom of open water swimming with the safety and structure of a pool, helping swimmers of all abilities build confidence before exploring wider outdoor swimming opportunities.
“The natural water, unheated pool provides an ideal training environment for swimmers, while also giving Londoners the opportunity to experience the physical and mental wellbeing benefits many participants associate with cold water swimming.”
Mete Coban, MBE, Deputy Mayor of London, said: “Sea Lanes Canary Wharf provides a fantastic new open swimming opportunity for Londoners and visitors in the heart of our city.
“The Mayor and I are committed to transforming London’s waterways – cleaning them up, improving biodiversity, and opening up more blue spaces for Londoners to relax, walk and swim in safely. This is why we are launching the Clean and Healthy Waterways plan to ensure they are safe and welcoming spaces for all, as we continue to build a better, greener London for everyone.”
Stuart Fyfe, CWG’s Managing Director of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure, said: “Canary Wharf is thrilled to welcome Sea Lanes as the next bold step in enhancing our blue and green spaces, adding to our district’s exceptional wellness offering.
“This unique leisure attraction will meaningfully improve access to nature and the waterside for Londoners and we can’t wait for our community to experience everything it has to offer. We’re pleased to offer an inclusive community hub for everyone, from Olympic swimmers to those looking just to relax in the summer sun.”
CWG has additionally become a recent signatory to the Swimmable Cities Charter – a global initiative championing cleaner waterways and greater public access to safe urban swimming.
Memberships, swimming sessions and activities can be reserved immediately. For complete information, opening hours and costs, visit www.sealanescanarywharf.co.uk.
