Dogtember at Saltdean Lido: two weekends left

If you have been meaning to take your dog for a dip and have put it off, the window is closing. Dogtember at Saltdean Lido is now in its final stretch, with only two weekends left of what organisers call the world's biggest dog swim festival and what multiple sources describe as the biggest dog swimming event in the UK. The sessions run on 26–27 September and 3–4 October, after the first two weekends of 12–13 and 19–20 September have already come and gone.

The setup is simple: 90-minute sessions, four a day, with one quiet session each day for dogs that do not like crowds. Each session is capped at 50 dogs and 100 humans, so it never turns into a free-for-all. Most sessions are open to all dogs, with the exception of the Small Dogs and Large Dogs slots, and there are breed meet-ups for Labradors, Spaniels, Huskies, Dachshunds, German Shepherds, Pointers, Sight Hounds and Newfoundlands, plus sessions for Hearing Dogs and Goldies. The whole thing is sponsored by Petgevity and run and stewarded entirely by volunteers as a fundraiser for the Saltdean Lido Trust, a registered charity (number 1173503), so the money goes back into the place.

On tickets, every dog needs a Dog Swim ticket. If you want to get in the water with them, you will need a Human swim ticket as well; if you are happy staying poolside and throwing a ball, which is provided, a spectator ticket covers you. Children under 16 are not allowed in the main pool for safety reasons, so they are spectator ticket only, though they are welcome in the splash pool under supervision. A standard ticket is around £6.00 and includes free parking, and they are sold through WeGotTickets. The event is expected to pull in more than 16,000 dogs and owners across the four weekends, and since it began in 2017 it has raised an estimated £250,000.

The pool itself is worth a look even when it is not full of dogs. Saltdean Lido is a Grade II* listed outdoor pool in Saltdean, Brighton, built between 1937 and 1938 by architect R.W.H. Jones. It has a 40m heated pool with wide shallow steps, a splash pool with a slide and water spouts, and plenty of grassed areas around. It reopened in May 2017 after restoration funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and others, and the Trust behind it was registered as a CIO on 21 June 2017, with trustees including Martin Gerard Brophy, Philip Haslam, Kathryn Louise Tong, Derek Leaver, David Bailey, Sally Horrox, Pamela Julie Shepherd and Deryck Chester. Fusion Lifestyle operates the lido, and the summer season ran until Thursday 10 September, 07:00 to 19:00.

If you have not been before, it is a good one to catch before the season closes properly. The last two weekends are 26–27 September and 3–4 October, so pick your session and book ahead, because the 50-dog limit means they fill up. It is a low-key, family-friendly way to spend a morning or afternoon, and the money goes to keeping a piece of Brighton's seafront heritage going.