came here for a close friends cousins christening. Warm welcoming venue, nice atmosphere no bar…read morethough

Open to all. This is a great community centre, you can hold all manner of event here from karate to…read moreweight watcher type clubs. We use this centre for regular planning meeting, for conferences, big meeting, training sessions and soon children's clubs. AND OMG, SO CHEAP TO HIRE!! John Bajina, Chair, BMEC.

A great family facility. Gym, daycare centre, swimming etc. Could do with a bit of a upgrade and…read moreadding on. Friendly staff. Good prices for membership packages. The daycare helps alot with you gyming and someone taking care of your kids.

A wide range of facilities, we go for 1) The ice skating,…read morewhich was renovated summer 2010 2) The swimming pool, which has long sessions, diving boards, a large teaching pool (shallow and warmer) and an outdoor pool in the summer The morning public skating sessions have background music, it's louder in the afternoon and there are disco sessions in the evenings, so take your pick. There are clubs and lessons for figure skating and ice hockey too. Where our local pool has hourly sessions and a mad rush for changing rooms at either end, we like the come and go whenever at Riverside. We also like the diving boards, 1m and 3m springboards, 5m platform (not always open - check website for times); great fun but rare elsewhere. A junior membership card is great value: my son skates every week so it's cheaper than paying for public sessions and he gets to swim for free too. It even includes parking when using the centre; casual users get a parking refund when paying but the pass avoids the ticket machine hassle. I also appreciate that the vending machines are not overpriced. What's wrong with it? Some complain the swim changing rooms are a little tired; they're not the greatest but they're perfectly satisfactory and you get your £1 back from the reasonably sized lockers. The flume in the pool has been out of commission since 2010, this was something we all loved when it was open - fix this for the fifth star The skating sessions get crowded while Dancing on Ice is on TV.

This place has a gym, ice rink, and 2 pools ( one for kids classes usually and one main one with a…read moreside diving area). I came into today for the first time to open a anytime aqua membership and asked for a tour before that. The tour was quick and helpful but I later found out why she didn't show me the showers.. they're the worst part about the facility. Only 6 private shower heads in a small room in the back (only speaking for the female/right side). No private shower stalls and not enough circulation to get stuffy smells out . Bottom of the pool is slippery and has many stains. Pool and lanes are very large and wide. Water was warm in pool and showers which is a plus! I do like their locker system (you put in a pound and it returns to you when you unlock it with your key that's attached to a water proof bracelet). There were a lot of children running around but I like that because it makes it feel safe and family orientated. Negative because floors and titles were not clean- might need some renovation. There's a lot of changing rooms and they are rarely ever all filled up (I wish they would turn those into private showers) and some missing hooks to hang clothes. I also got a tour of the gym. It's one room. About 6-8 treadmills and area where there's weights facing a mirror. This room gets packed during 5-7pm, the changing room is upstairs, and lockers have a number pad to open. The front desk and waiting area is nice. All the ladies at the front are superb as they carry great attitudes. This place isn't the cleanest but it will do for those who just want to get in and out.

Ok pool fun wave machine slides built in sports hall and play area great for any one nice caferead more

The pool at Letchworth Leisure centre is great for kids. The changing rooms are spacious, with…read morechanging tables, play pens and large lockers. The pool itself starts off very shallow at the edge and gradually gets deeper, and its a great layout for toddlers and babies. The cafe is also pretty good for a leisure centre

Oxford Ice Rink Oxpens Road Outdoor skating may be the cool…read morething to do (couldn't resist the pun) but for real ice and a big space, go to the Oxford Ice rink. The surroundings are rather grotty and can't compare with Somerset House or possibly Oxford or Warwick castles (I've not been to the two latter but I imagine they are scenic) but it is bigger and size does (whatever men say) count. There is enough room to get up a bit of speed or just to get up a bit of confidence. It can get very busy at week ends and during school holidays. The disco music can be too loud for anybody except teenagers. Check with the rink before you go if you don't want to find yourself in the middle of an ice disco. During the week the early evening sessions are much quieter. It is run by the council so it isn't that expensive and you can get a discount card if you are a regualar visitor - you may also get special deals if you have a "Slice" card for the council run sports centres. Non-skaters can pay a pound to accompany their children.

Good old Oxford ice rink. It's a typical ice rink in that it's a bit run-down, a bit dirty and…read morerather ugly from the outside, but hey, you don't go there for the aesthetics. The rink is a fair old size and they run lots of great events such as ice dancing lessons, family discos and ice hockey training. Various teams train regularly there, although often late at night, and it's home to Oxford Alternative Ice Hockey (essentially ice hockey for amateurs, but great fun according to my friend who does it regularly). Entry is pretty cheap, although as others have mentioned, it's best to walk there if you want to avoid the parking charges. There are vending machines and lockers, and the staff are friendly and enthusiastic.

This was my regular gym from a few years ago The gym itself was lovely, great place to workout…read morelooks modern and clean. The only issue I had was with the staff at the main reception of the Venue, there was a few that seemed to be very unprofessional (giggling to each other when I would arrive to check in & making off putting glances) At this time I was pretty much a new & overweight must be said) member to the gym scene, so this was really off putting and made me feel very uncomfortable in returning.. after a few months I decided to leave my membership and go elsewhere. The staff in the gym itself are wonderful, extremely helpful & considerate. There is a wide range of equipment available for cardio and strength training which is great. I have not used the swimming pools but the view you get from the gym is great, looks like a great place to swim. Won't be returning though due to the bad experience with staff as the first impression you get of a place is in the hands of the reception, even though not all staff at reception were bad the impact of a few can have a major impact. Have found another gym company & am greatly enjoying it there.

This is not a bad swimming pool, but I suspect the casual/leisure swimmer may disagree. The primary…read morereason I like coming here is the water temperature, it is what many would probably consider cold but for serious swimming this is perfect. You really can go for it here without the overheating problems you get in some public pools where the temperature is just too high to be comfortable. The only problem really is that they have followed this concept through to the jacuzzi in the health suite, its barely warmer than the pool. Although I can't stand it when it's skin peelingly hot here it is just too cold, it needs to be hot enough to relax and sooth the tired muscles that have been worked in the gym or pool and this just doesn't do that. Other than that great, changing rooms are clean, if a little shabby in places. The staff seem reasonably pleasant and helpful and although I haven't used it the gym looks decent, it's on the first floor and looks out over the pool.