Cheltenham Lido: A Living Piece of History – and Why I’m Honoured to Photograph the Christmas Winter Dip 2025
A Winter Tradition, Seen Through the Lens of WilsonStudios
Cheltenham Lido has always been a place of contrasts.
In summer, it’s light, laughter and long afternoons — sunlight dancing on turquoise water, families sprawled on the grass, the gentle hum of conversation carried on warm air. But winter strips everything back. The colours soften. The crowds thin. What remains is something quieter, braver, and deeply honest.
It’s in winter that the Lido reveals its soul.
The Cheltenham Lido Christmas Winter Dip is one of those rare events where tradition, community and human resilience meet – and in 2025, I had the genuine honour of documenting it as WilsonStudios.
A Cold Morning, A Warm Community
The morning of the dip begins long before anyone enters the water.
Swimmers arrive wrapped in robes and towels, clutching hot drinks, festive hats pulled low against the cold. Breath hangs in the air. There’s nervous laughter, friendly banter, and the occasional deep inhale as people quietly prepare themselves for what they’re about to do.
Some are seasoned cold-water swimmers. Others are there for the very first time — eyes wide, excitement mixed with apprehension. Friends encourage one another. Strangers exchange smiles. For a moment, everyone is equal at the poolside.
This is what makes the Winter Dip special.
It’s not about performance – it’s about showing up.
The Moment of the Plunge
There’s a brief stillness just before the water.
Then comes the step in – the sharp intake of breath, the instant shock, the involuntary laugh or shout as the cold wraps itself around skin. Steam rises from the surface as bodies move through the water, and the quiet of the morning gives way to cheers, laughter, and collective disbelief.
It’s raw. It’s real. It’s unfiltered.
As a documentary photographer, these are the moments I’m always looking for – expressions that can’t be staged, reactions that last only seconds, emotions that tell the story better than words ever could.
Photographing the Experience, Not Just the Event
At WilsonStudios, my approach is simple but intentional:
observe, anticipate, and document honestly.
During the Christmas Winter Dip, I wasn’t just photographing people swimming – I was photographing:
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The tension in shoulders before the plunge
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The way friends instinctively reach for each other
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The laughter that breaks through the cold
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The pride and relief etched onto faces afterwards
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The small, fleeting details that give the event its character
Festive costumes. Red noses. Steam curling into the winter sky. A towel wrapped tightly around shaking shoulders. These details turn an event into a story.
They’re the moments people remember – and the moments photography preserves.
More Than a Swim — A Living Tradition
Cheltenham Lido isn’t frozen in time. It’s alive.
Each Winter Dip adds another layer to its history – another year, another group of swimmers, another shared challenge met together. Some faces return year after year. Others experience it just once. All of them become part of the Lido’s story.
Photographing the Christmas Winter Dip isn’t just about creating images for today – it’s about building an archive of community memory, something future generations can look back on and feel connected to.
That responsibility is something I never take lightly.
A Personal Privilege
Being invited to document this event was a genuine privilege.
As a Gloucestershire-based photographer, I care deeply about the places and people I photograph. Cheltenham Lido is iconic – not because of its architecture alone, but because of the community that keeps it alive through every season.
To be trusted with telling this story – quietly, respectfully, and truthfully – is exactly why WilsonStudios exists.
Thank You
Thank you to Cheltenham Lido, the organisers, and every swimmer who took part in the Christmas Winter Dip 2025. Your courage, humour and togetherness are what made this event so powerful to photograph.
Here’s to winter mornings that test us.
Here’s to traditions that bring us together.
Here’s to real moments – thoughtfully captured.
– WilsonStudios
Documentary photography for people, places and stories that matter.