Ah the Rec! I went on so many sorry excuses for a school trip here I've lost count. It played a massive part in my childhood and teens and I've always spent a good portion of time here as an adult.
They have skate parks both inside and outside at various points in the year and these have become a regular haunt for troubled teens, judging by the amount of graffiti knocking about. There's a decent park for smaller children which is pretty large and well equipped.
The interior of the Rec is fairly old hat and dated nowadays but it's still got plenty on. It's pretty much the main hub of activity and fitness for the town. There's a swimming pool where pretty much everyone from my generation had a birthday party at some point. It's got a wave machine, large floats and a water slide which is pretty cool. There's a really well stocked gym with plenty of equipment and squash and badminton courts downstairs too, which can also be used as basketball courts and for football. There's a special oldies gym upstairs which is always popular. They also have a large function room which has been used for gigs, parties, competitions etc. There's a jacuzzi and a sauna which is a great place to chill out after a workout or a swim too.
To get access to all these services you need a bridge card, or for certain things such as squash and badminton you can pay a one off fee providing no-ones pre-booked a court . A bridge card is £31 a month and it means you can book ahead. With that fee you can use most of the services for free and there's no annual contract either. You can also use it in most leisure centres in the area and use their services for free too.
It's not a bad deal if you're going down there regularly but if not it can seem a bit expensive. It's a great local facility though and they used to put gigs on there every week for local bands, which is what made me fall in love with the place, as you were playing to at least two or three hundred people a week. Sadly they don't put many gigs on anymore but it's still an essential facility for the people of Bridgend. read more