Temperatures have been soaring in the UK, and Manchester has not avoided the heatwave. Although the weather is changable, we always like to have an idea of where we can cool off if need be, and luckily for us, Sale Water Park has been named one of the best outdoor swimming spots in the UK – Manchester’s very own beach, if you will.
Breakdown experts The AA took a look at some of the most popular places that Brits like to go swimming, considering factors such as Google search data, review scores, Instagram popularity, entry fees, and summer weather conditions.
One of Britain’s best swimming spots right here in Manchester
The study from the AA put Sale Water Park in third place in the list of outdoor swimming spots across the UK, which compared locations on the number of searches and social media mentions. The swimming spot came in at 33,100 monthly searches on Google, as well as over 13,000 tags on Instagram, boasting an artificial lake used for a number of water sports including sailing, jet-skiing, and paddleboarding.
Sale Water Park is of course located in Sale, South Manchester, and is surrounded by the lush greenery of Turn Moss and Priory Gardens, intersected by the River Mersey and Chorlton Brook. Surrounded by the areas of Stretford, Sale, Chorlton and Wythenshawe, Sale Water Park is easily accessible for many with a nearby tram stop, and the M60 running right below it, making it a great day trip destination.
Sale Water Park was the only northern swimming spot to make the top five, joining the likes of London’s Brockwell Lido, Tooting Bec Lido and London Fields Lido. Whilst the capital is dominated by lidos, given the many miles between the city and a beach, the north instead boasts an abundance of natural and man-made bodies of water like Sale Water Park to cool off at.
Sale Water Park: One of the country’s best spots for outdoor swimming
Sale Water Park is a man-made lake built in the early 1970s as a bi-product of the M60 motorway construction. Material was required to raise the motorway embankment by approximately 10m in order to be a safe height above the River Mersey floodplain. This material was excavated from the land next to the motorway, leaving a gravel pit over 100 feet deep.
Instagram post via @traintall_
Sale Water Park is a 152-acre site of which a third is taken up by the lake. It is in an area of green belt running through the Mersey Valley and is owned by Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council. Trafford Water Sports Centre can be found at the park, offering a range of water sports including water skiing, jet skiing, sailing and kayaking and the site is popular with anglers.
Watersports and swimming at Sale Water Park are managed by Open Swim UK, and if you have any queries, you can check the website for more details.
📍 Sale Water Park, Rifle Road Sale, Greater Manchester M33 2LX.
🚗 Sale Water Park is just off junction 6 of the M60 – there is a free car park with 50 spaces, with a larger park and ride option.
🚃 There is a dedicated Sale Water Park tram stop on the Victoria-Manchester Airport Metrolink line.