On a sunny Thursday in June, Tinside Lido in Plymouth was flooded with mermaids. It was a sea of metallic shimmer, candyfloss colours, seashell bikinis and long scaly tails. At a count of 378, this was the largest ever gathering of merpeople, according to the Guinness Book of Records. “It was fabulous,” says organiser Pauline Barker. “Such a happy, colourful day. People went to town with the sparkles and glitter and it was really joyful.”
Barker is a committed wild swimmer, who owns her own mermaid tail. “I live in the world of outdoor swimming and when we imagine ourselves to be mermaids, or dolphins or sirens of the sea, it’s just bringing that fantasy world to life for a few hours,” she says.
