Friends Of Otley Lido

09/12/2025

🎄✨ Otley Christmas Tree Festival — starts tomorrow! ✨🎄
Join us at from 12 noon tomorrow as the town’s festive favourite returns! The festival runs until Saturday 13 December, with 40 beautifully decorated trees created by local charities and community groups.
🌲 Find our tree — Number 13!
As you walk into the church and face the altar, our Friends of Otley Lido tree is on the left-hand side.
We’ve decorated it with heritage photographs of Otley Lido in its heyday – a nostalgic glimpse into the pool’s vibrant past and the community memories we’re working so hard to restore. 💙
🎶 Enjoy daily music from choirs and community performers, and pop into the café for tea, coffee and mince pies (Thursday–Saturday). Entry is free, with donations welcomed for your favourite trees.
Come along, get into the Christmas spirit, and say hello to Tree 13! 🎅✨

07/12/2025

🎄😀💦☔️ Help Us Make A Big Splash indeed! Our motto became reality today - thanks so much for everyone who came to support us and hear an update on our project despite the weather it was a good turnout and great to talk to so many people. We hope you had a fabulous Otley Victorian Fayre.

07/12/2025

🎄🎄😀😀😀WHERE ARE YOU? We are here and ready and waiting for you and dressed for the occasion! 🎄🎄😀😀😀

SEE YOU SOON OUTSIDE THE OTLEY PHARMACY (who have kindly provided our electric feed)

07/12/2025

Never let a little water dampen your spirits! Come and see us opposite Fultons and hear an update on our project and try our tasty best ever mulled wine in town!

07/12/2025

We’re at the Otley Victorian Fayre TODAY – outside Otley Pharmacy on Boroughgate from 12–6pm!
Come and find us for…
🍷 The BEST mulled wine in Otley (fact!)
🎁 Delicious seasonal chutneys
🎟️ A fabulous tombola
😊 And our bright and sunny spirit – rain or shine!
Your support helps us move one step closer to restoring the Otley Lido.
Come say hello and warm up with us! 💙💦

06/12/2025

🎄 Otley Victorian Fayre — TOMORROW! 🎄
Find us outside Otley Pharmacy on Boroughgate — our usual spot!
We’ll be there with:
🔥 The best ever mulled wine (electrics courtesy of Otley Pharmacy)
🥄 Seasonal chutneys & festive sweet chilli jam
🎁 A fabulous tombola
😊 And our bright & sunny FoOL spirit — rain or shine!
Come along, say hello, and help support the Otley Lido project.
Help Us Make A Big Splash! 💦

05/12/2025

A little extra water from above won’t stop us — we’re all about bringing the outdoor pool back anyway!”
💧😄☔🏊‍♂️

05/12/2025

03/12/2025

🎄☃️🎅 Before or after you visit our stall at the Otley Victorian Fayre this Sunday we highly recommend you visit our friends at Aura Jewellery, Otley who are great friends of ours - always supporting the Otley Lido project. They've come to our aid many a time with general help from promotions of our campaign, providing moral support and through to providing ladders!

20% off their fabulous silver jewellery is a great deal!

If you haven't already bought our Christmas cards you can do that at Aura Jewellery, Otley or through us at our stall on Sunday.

We will be outside the Otley Pharmacy on Market Place from 12noon to 6pm with our famous mulled wine, chutneys and jams, Christmas cards and lido merchandise and a fab tombola with great prizes to be won.

Come see us before or after you see our friends at Aura Jewellery, Otley! You know where they are: in the New Inn Court and then you can come and see us!

29/11/2025

This is your turn to help your Otley Lido!

📣 Volunteers Needed for the Otley Victorian Fayre! 🎄
Sunday 7 December 2025

Friends of Otley Lido will be at the Otley Victorian Fayre with our mulled wine, homemade chutneys & jams, and our ever-popular tombola — and we’d love your help!

We’re looking for volunteers who can give just one hour of their time on the day to help us sell items and run the tombola.
👉 No experience needed
👉 All technical details handled by the Committee
👉 A friendly, festive atmosphere guaranteed!
If you can spare an hour to support the project, please comment below or send us a message.

Let’s make a big splash together this Christmas! 💙❄️

22/11/2025

🎄 TWO WEEKS TO GO Otley Victorian Fayre – Sunday 7 December 2025 🎄

We’re delighted to be back at this year’s Otley Victorian Fayre!
Join us on Sunday 7 December for:

🍷 The best ever mulled wine in Otley — at the most reasonable prices!
🎁 A fantastic tombola packed with brilliant prizes
🎄 Our homemade Christmas chutneys and festive sweet chilli jam
💧 A Behind the Scenes update on the progress of our Otley Lido restoration project

All run by volunteers in the community and for the community - Supported and electricity provided by Otley Pharmacy 14 Market Place outside where we will be. Thank you to Otley Pharmacy

We’re proud to be learning from and supported through the wider sector, including:
🏊‍♀️ Sport England
🏛️ The National Lottery Heritage Fund
🎟️ Heritage Network

Every penny raised helps bring our much-loved outdoor pool another step closer to reopening.



Help Us Make a Big Splash!

18/11/2025

Behind the scenes: Building FoOL’s Capabilities

We promised to keep you, our amazing supporters, updated on some of the ‘behind the scenes’ work that helps keep the Otley Lido project moving forward. Over recent weeks we’ve been busy attending webinars, online classrooms, workshops and preparing documents for funders — all part of strengthening Friends of Otley Lido’s organisational capabilities.

In just the last few days, we’ve attended four virtual sessions as part of our commitment to upskilling the team:
🔹 Buddle / Sport England – Leadership & Governance, Engaging Your Community and Financial Management online classrooms
🔹 Heritage Network – Placemaking, Community Consultation and Participation webinar

Developing our team isn’t the glamorous side of the project… but it is essential. This work strengthens our planning, our understanding, and our capacity to manage each element of this hugely complex restoration.

Of course, this activity isn’t a substitute for professional expertise. For example, FoOL is fortunate to have an Urban Designer advising us on a pro bono basis in relation to placemaking, community consultation and participation. She attended the webinar alongside a FoOL team member as part of her CPD and will continue supporting us at the right moments in the project timeline.

We’re extremely grateful for these opportunities — many of which are supported by national funders.

The programme is a Sport England initiative supported by The National Lottery and delivered by UK Coaching, while The National Lottery Heritage Fund is a proud Heritage Network partner.

Thank you to everyone involved!

A busy — but very productive — few weeks ahead as we progress towards the next phase of this long-awaited project. 💙

Sport England The National Lottery Heritage Fund Heritage Network