London's new waterside wellness destination, Sea Lanes Canary Wharf, opens to the public this Friday. The venue offers a new way to swim, relax, and reconnect with the water, bringing year-round open water swimming to the heart of the city with a 50-metre pool floating in the dock.
First of Its Kind in London
The six-lane natural water pool is the first of its kind in the capital. It features saunas powered by 100% renewable energy and a clubhouse. Guests can enjoy a specially curated food and drink menu, a store stocking swimming clothing and accessories from Dry Robe, Finisterre, and Water Haul, and fully accessible facilities designed to make open water swimming more inclusive.
An Urban Oasis
Billed as an urban oasis, the venue sits among the lush, biodiverse waterfront of Eden Dock following its transformation as part of Canary Wharf's ongoing evolution. Deputy Mayor of London Mete Coban sounded the horn to begin a special relay race at the launch event yesterday, where local swim teams were the first to take to the water.
Created by the team behind the UK's first National Open Water Swimming Centre, Sea Lanes Brighton, in partnership with CWG and Canal & River Trust, the fully lifeguarded pool is operated by South Downs Leisure. It offers both membership and flexible pay-per-swim access alongside a programme of coached and training sessions, community events, and social swims.
Future Expansion
Later in the year, Sea Lanes will open up the wider area of Eden Dock to deliver non-lane open water swimming, paddleboarding, freediving, surf-fit sessions, and winter scuba programmes. This expansion meets the growing demand for outdoor swimming, with 6.81 million people swimming outdoors each year in the UK, including 2.45 million open water swimmers, according to Swim England.
Commitment to Accessibility
As part of its commitment to making wellbeing more accessible, Sea Lanes Canary Wharf will offer a limited number of fully funded memberships through local community organisations. There will also be discounted memberships and pay-per-swim access for eligible residents through the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Council's Be Well scheme, helping to make outdoor swimming more inclusive and accessible.
Community Reactions
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."
Deputy Mayor of London, Mete Coban, MBE, 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, Managing Director of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure at CWG, 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 also recently signed the Swimmable Cities Charter – a global initiative championing cleaner waterways and greater public access to safe urban swimming. Memberships, swim sessions and activities are available to book now. For full details, opening times and pricing visit www.sealanescanarywharf.co.uk.
