Swimming Pool (Disused)

There's something oddly compelling about a swimming pool that nobody uses anymore. This disused pool sits in Aberdeenshire, just outside Banff, and it's the sort of place that makes you wonder what summer afternoons looked like here decades ago. The water's still there, ringed by concrete and the skeletal remains of what was once communal infrastructure - not quite ruins, not quite functioning, just suspended in time.

It won't take long to look around. Ten minutes, maybe fifteen if you're the type who lingers over details. What you're really doing is reading the landscape - the cracks, the algae bloom, the metal railings half-buried in vegetation. There's no admission fee because there's nothing to admit you to, and no opening hours because it doesn't operate. You just turn up.

Historically minded visitors might find it interesting, or photographers chasing that particular strain of urban decay aesthetic. Families staying at Portsoy Links or Banff Links caravan parks won't find much to occupy the kids here, but it makes a decent ten-minute detour if you're already exploring the Banff coast. The broader area has proper beaches and clifftop walks that are substantially more rewarding. This pool is worth a glance on your way through town, but don't reroute your holiday to see it. It's a curiosity, not a destination.