Once a striking landmark on Sandown’s seafront, the Blue Lagoon witnessed decades of changing leisure trends – from Art Deco swimming to performing dolphins and late-night discos.
Opened in the 1930s, the pool was originally called the Beausoleil, a name that evoked glamour and sophistication.
Fed by seawater and framed by smooth, streamlined Art Deco architecture, the Blue Lagoon was instantly striking on the Sandown seafront. Its distinctive diving board rose above the pool like a modernist sculpture, while terraces and balustrades offered spaces for families to relax and watch the action.
Swimming galas, competitions, and casual dips made it a hub of seaside fun. The changing rooms below carried the unmistakable scent of chlorine, a sensory memory many former swimmers still recall.
For children growing up on the Island, it was the place they first learned to swim, immersed in the bustling energy and bright optimism of a golden era of British lidos.
Teaching methods in the 1950s were famously robust. One former swimmer recalled:
“It was either sink or swim!”
Many remembered the water as icy cold, though fondly. One former pupil said:
“So cold, but it was where I learned to swim.”
Another local reflected:
“We lived by the sea, had a beach hut, and would still go to the pool on a hot summer’s day. It was unheated and freezing cold but we always loved it.”
In 1973, the Blue Lagoon was dramatically repurposed into a dolphinarium. The once-familiar pool, with its elegant Art Deco lines, now hosted four bottlenose dolphins – Max, Leigh, Little Charlie and Peewee – as they leapt and twirled for audiences of holidaymakers.
The dolphins were supplied by Florida-based company Aquatic Mammal Enterprises, run by Charlie Riggs and Leigh Hradek. Riggs, a Vietnam veteran and pilot, had already supplied dolphins for the Hollywood film The Day of the Dolphin.
The shows drew crowds, but not everyone approved. Even at the time, some Islanders expressed unease at dolphins being kept in what was a converted outdoor pool. Concerns about welfare and the ethics of captivity meant the dolphinarium was short-lived. After just three summer seasons, the venture closed in 1975 and the dolphins returned to the United States.
Following the dolphin years, the Blue Lagoon site continued to evolve. The pool briefly became a go-kart track, while coin-operated amusements and a bingo hall continued to operate below it.
In the 1960s, the Birdcage nightclub ran in the same complex as the pool and amusements, bringing lively nightlife to the seafront. Nearby, separate venues such as Zanies would later develop into well-known nightclubs, but the original Blue Lagoon site itself eventually fell out of use.
The buildings were demolished, and the area redeveloped into private residential properties, erasing almost every trace of its past.
Though the Blue Lagoon itself has disappeared, it remains a distinctive part of Sandown’s heritage. Its story reflects wider changes in British seaside culture: the interwar passion for lidos, the 1970s appetite for animal spectacle, the disco-fuelled nights of the 80s, and the decline of such attractions in favour of redevelopment.
Most of all, it survives in memory. For some, it was the place where they first swam, teeth chattering in freezing seawater. For others, it was a venue of excitement and controversy, where dolphins leapt to holiday applause, or a nightclub where the dancefloor pulsed into the small hours.
Do you remember swimming at the Blue Lagoon, seeing the dolphins, racing go-karts, or dancing at Zanies or The Birdcage? Share your memories with us – we’d love to hear them.
I remember they had go carts there in the early 80s.
In the early 1990 Me and my best friend at the time Ebenezer used to slam it a Zanies most Friday and Saturdays , there will never ever be a club like that again such a crying shame
Was ebeneezer good?
Where exactly was that located? Anyone know/remember?
it was where the new flats are to the south west of sandown pier
if you look at the photo above, you can see the slipway to teh beach that is still there & the path to the left of the curved corner of the Blue Lagoon (ferncliff path) is still there
Yes, wonderful until some GREEDY company wanted to change it to make money for selves.. Council practically gave it away. Now they want to do it all again……insane..
always sodding freezing changing rooms a disgrace 3rd world
I remember it well and have photographs i took when i went as a kid. it was directly opposite entrance to Sandown Pier.
Good to see article as everyone i have ever mentioned it to dont remember it at all
Sandown used to be a wonderful place.
Why don’t the island bring back the boating
lake and re-open a lido.
The more facilities brings in the tourists, many
Seasides have Big Ferris Wheels, so much can be done
to generate tourism.
“Why don’t the island …re-open a lido.”
There are plans underway to constuct a ‘sea pool’ at Yaverland
https://isleofwightseapool.org.uk/
Now an utter shit hole drugs worn out dirty scum people everywhere.
Yes I remember it well, this is the place where the likes of level 42 cut their teeth, performing as joe bear. Bands were great..big swifty, the pumphouse gang etc,great day’s, good fun..
Long time ago now – early sixties, through school I passed my junior and intermediate certificates.