Giles Baths is a natural rock pool, the Coogee Bogey Hole, at the foot of the northern headland of Coogee Beach. It is free, reached through an old archway marked 'Baths', and best on calm days.
Key facts
- Type
- Ocean pool or baths
- Good to know
- Lifeguards
- Facilities and access
- Reached by the Coastal Walkway in Dunningham Reserve near the Bali Memorial, or along the rocky foreshore north of Coogee Beach; no dogs, alcohol, glass or smoking
- Managed by
- Randwick City Council
- Cost
- Free
- Lifeguards
- Coogee Beach lifeguards nearby
- Public transport
- Buses to Coogee Beach
- Dogs
- Not allowed
- Best time to go
- Calm days, low to mid tide
- Water quality
- GoodCoogee Beach, 0.2 km away. Sampled 21 Oct. Source: NSW Beachwatch.
- Cleaning
- Natural pool, no cleaning schedule published
- Town
- Coogee, NSW
What it's like
This is a rock pool in its natural form: an irregular basin in the rock platform, with the sea surging in over the outer edge. It is good for a dip or simply sitting on the rocks. In strong surf the surge becomes rough, and lifeguards often deal with cuts and bumps here.
People have swum here since the nineteenth century, when it was a bogey hole used by men. From the late 1920s a gym and hot sea baths run by the Giles family stood above the pool, and the archway you walk through, with 'Baths' over it, is the old entrance to that building. The rest of the building has since been demolished.
When to go
Calm days at low to mid tide. Mornings are quieter; summer afternoons are busy with Coogee crowds. There is no cleaning schedule, as the sea refreshes the pool.
Getting there and facilities
Walk north from Coogee Beach along the coastal walkway into Dunningham Reserve, near the Bali Memorial, and take the stairs down through the archway. Toilets, showers, cafes and buses are all at Coogee Beach, a few minutes away.
Good to know
No dogs, alcohol, glass or smoking. The rocks are sharp and slippery, so reef shoes help.