So this is where it all started...the beginning of a rather bizarre love with swimming pools as a…read moreplace for fun - the memories of youth - I remember the excitement when this leisure pool originally opened in 1976 - it wasn't a rectangle it was round! What was this madness? Half the pool was too shallow to actually swim in and it had waves. This was the very first time I had encountered a "leisure" pool - oh trend setting, thoroughly modern Swindon you have so much to answer for - (along with the famed "magic roundabout"). I still return here with the kids every time we jump on a train to visit my wife's family. It is a great pool but looking distinctly tatty round the edges now. The domed roof desperately needs renewing - it looked spectacular 30 years ago but putting that aside its still super fun. The pool itself is beach style with a separate small kids pool. Good kids pool with 3 slides plus pirate ship.... The main pool has a steep three lane multislide and a new long slide circles inside the building (77m long). But really it is the flumes here that count and these are top. The Domebusters have a had a refurb this year and one of them has been replaced. All are approx 100m in length.So first off The Sidewinder A fairly gentle, spiralling flume aimed at younger children and parents. You can sit or go head first. The Great White My favourite - heads first ONLY never seen that on any other slide! Normally feet first everywhere.... A fast ride with two small vertical drops and several twists and turns. The Storm The new this year straight fast flume - small circumference with a striped lighting effect and sounds.. Didn't get to try this out this time - but will be back to do so....busy with an under 5... The session time was only an hour - which is really not long enough and it is fairly expensive considering the stingy hour. There are not many reasons to visit Swindon but this is definitely one if you are a water slide fan or the kids love to swim. . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update So I came back to try out the new flume which I hadn't managed to try out last time. Managed to slip away from a family visit for a couple of hours with my teenagers. Interestingly GLL have taken over the management of the leisure centre since we were here in 2012 (they run most of the pools we visit in London). It had been spruced up a bit with the new corporate livery...but still the stingy session times. We took no notice of the session times and made good use of the domebuster slides. So The Storm was the main attraction - small tube, dark, with striped lightning and fast with the descent as a helix. A big thumbs up from the family - a great slide but not in our top 5 slides. The Great White remains the favourite - head first you can pick up some proper speed and fly over the steepest vertical drops... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oasis is a great place to take the family swimming! They have a huge laguna pool that boasts water…read moreslides, a wave machine, a smaller pool for the children and a big water sprayer. They do a range of different classes such as mother and baby Swimming, OAP Swimming and also offer swimming lessons. They have also just started doing gigs with people such as 'The Sugababes' 'Cascada' and 'Shayne Ward' perfoming there.

Attached to Hucclecote library Hucclecote Community Centre is a home to Teapots cafe, Nippers the…read moreHucclecote Community Association Parent and Toddler group, and quite a few other groups. It is used as a social club which requires mebership for a annual fee and rooms can be hired for a reasonable amount Ongoing updating is taking place, but it's clean and the staff here are always ready with a smile and will bend over backwards to help if they can. A large car park is available and so if you are visiting the library it's worth a look around and have a cup of coffee and a cake in the cafe.

This is a really nice sports facility where you get a welcome as soon as you enter. There is ample…read moreparking facilities on site and the opening hours mean you have little excuse not to go and utilise your membership. The reception staff are fantastic, I really feel that nothing appears to be too much trouble for them. The facilities on site are good, occasionally, I have found the water in the pool to be a little cool, but thats maybe me. The changing rooms are always immaculate and they offer good facilities, there are lots of hairdryers and it reminds me of a spa in there. The gym itself is well laid out and is a comfortable temperature for your workout, it has never been too busy and I have never felt that I have been looked down upon for my poor physique - whereas some gyms you feel uncomfortable. The staff are all really friendly and helpful and after your workout there is a really nice restaurant which serves really nice food and really tasty coffee.

Softplay and swimming often over subscribed meaning it is dangerous and scary for smaller children,…read moreI have often seen children hurt and crying inside the softplay area with no staff on hand to offer help or ensure safety. There is nothing to stop people from staying over the allotted hour play time, meaning that when others stay and more come in there can be more than a hundred children at one time the softplay center. A serious accident is waiting to happen. When speaking to the manager he offered no solution. Terrible booking service through the website (often doesn't load) Can't get through via phone (i've been on hold for 30 minutes now)

This p[lace is amazing it is always clean and has tons for children to do…read more cannot recomend it enough

I went for the first time with my eldest for a birthday party. It is a huge climbing place situated…read morein one of the old warehouses and is like a tardis when you step inside. There is a small bar with plenty of seating and serves a good range of both food and drink, you then walk on upstairs to where the main climbing centre is. The staff are friendly and professional and certainly focus on the safety aspect of the sport, there is a huge area for climbing and abseiling and also the boulder room where you can just free climb with deep cushions to land on should you slip. The party itself was well run and the instructors kept the kids entertained in between taking turns in climbing. The food was normal kids party food but was tasty and soon demolished. I would certainly keep this place in mind not just for a kids party but for a new activity to take up myself - all in all a very enjoyable visit.

Canolfan a Llyfrgell Star Centre and Library is an impressive, purpose built leisure centre and…read morelibrary complex situated on the main street in Splott. The centre first opened in 1981 and was taken over by the Council in 2001 when it underwent minor refurbishment. It has recently undergone a further, more extensive refurbishment programme, which has led to the development of a modern Fitness Suite, as well as a disabled lift that is sited in the foyer. This phase also saw the incorporation of the new Splott Library. Splott is considered to be a 'problem area' and suffers from high unemployment and the associated social problems of economic privation. A small number of the kids in Splott are responsible for some pretty anti-social behaviour, and the sports centre is one of the local amenities where it's hoped that children from all backgrounds can meet and have fun. It offers an extensive programme of activities for children throughout the summer, including indoor athletics, football, badminton, baseball, basket ball as well as more creative pursuits that come under the general banner of arts and crafts, and include things like jewellery making, glass bottle art and clay modelling. In a bid to try and constructively engage the local under sixteen's at the weekends, (when trouble is most likely to erupt), the centre holds a youth night every Friday. Facilities: 6 x Badminton Courts Basketball Netball Indoor 5-a-side Fitness Suite Classes: swimming, gymnastics, soft play, yoga etc... Group Fitness Sessions: circuits, aerobics, boxercise Children's activities: including children's parties and holiday programmes. Full disabled facilities and changing room Food and Drink: hot & cold vending machines, snack machines, and fully licensed Bar Meeting rooms Function room . Membership/Savings: The Max card or Active card membership schemes offer the opportunity to save money on all council leisure activities. Useful Info: Bus Numbers: 11,12,13 Car park at the rear of building, with disabled bays and assistance where required. Email. STARCentre@cardiff.gov.uk

The Star Centre is the hub of Splott! Staff are so friendly. I have developed a friendship with the…read morestaff in the library. They're extremely helpful and polite. They go out of their way to help the community. Staff in the library help children with their homework and entertain teenagers with hilarious stories. Its such a shame that the Star is closing down and it will never be the same without the great local atmosphere. The Star holds events for families which I have taken part of and deeply enjoyed. There is also a gym. I hate to mention a small complaint. 2013 I joined a martial arts class in the Star and it was not very helpful. I learnt the language-not the art of physical activity. It wasn't memorable experience Other that that the Star is a great local place to meet up and have fun!

Had a three day trial. Gym and pool are both large, but that's where the positives end…read more Changing rooms and showers are filthy. Toilet paper was on the floor for three consecutive days when I went. Toothpaste and what appeared to be mud had been sprayed up the shower cubicle wall. Jacuzzi hot tub is cold, not heated at all. I sent an email asking how often the changing rooms and showers were cleaned, and what the temperature of the hot tub is set at, but I never received a response. A couple days after my trial finished. I received a marketing calls from the leisure centre asking if I'd like to sign up with them. I explained that I had emailed but received no response and I asked them on the phone how often the showers were cleaned and what are the temperature of the hot tub was. They told me that they didn't know how often the showers were cleaned and that it's supposed to be done by the lifeguards..they told me that they didn't know how often the showers were cleaned and that it's supposed to be done by the lifeguards. they also told me they don't know what the temperature of the hot tub is set at and that they would speak to their managers, who would then gets back to me. I wasn't surprised when I receive no response from management after waiting two weeks for one. Conclusion: For more than £40 a month, I would expect the changing rooms and showers to be cleaned at least daily and I would expect professionalism from the staff. Unfortunately both of these things are not apparent and I would warn anybody before taking out a monthly or yearly contract with the leisure centre that you check these conditions for yourself. If I had actually received a phone call back from the managers I might well have ended up signing up to the leisure centre because it's closer to me than other gyms. However, I have now signed up to another gym which happens to be a lot cheaper and the quality is much higher.

1* because of the car park, an Absolute scum bag operation. You can park legit and prove it and…read morethey still fine you and send copious amounts of aggressive fine letters with no contact details. This car park ruins the leisure centre reputation.

The Vale of Neath Leisure centre is a great place to get some exercise and relax…read more The free form pool is large and you can walk in it, making it very accessible for people with disabilities. There is a Spa pool just to the side of the main pool and also a Hydro-slide (I've never been brave enough to go on it). There's a lot of classes to choose from such as Aqua Aerobics and Swimming lessons and also early bird swimming. There is also a well equiped gym, but I only used it the once as it is always full of poser type men who make me feel very self concious and as there's no women only session I just leave them to it. The Leisure Centre is having a big overhaul at the moment with lots of building work going on to improve the facilities and offer a more varied programme of activities, work should be ending soon.

Ever since I first dabbled into the world of Crazy Golf at Alton Towers, I have been hooked. There…read moreis just something about a group of adults with miniature putters and different coloured plastic balls walking around on fake grass that both amuses and entertains me greatly. When putting together a Weekly Yelp on fun things to do in the city, I spotted Mohamade A's review of this place and bookmarked it for something new to do on a Sunday. After a mad Friday night and busy Saturday, I just wanted to get out of house and do something fun (but not too intensive). Mini golf seemed to be the perfect low energy, silly activity for me and Dan to enjoy. First thing to note, Star City can be accessed by bus but offers plentiful free parking if you plan on driving. I haven't been here in a few years and was surprised to see quite a few newer businesses here (including at least a couple of independents). Adventure Island is at the front of the building and easy to spot with it's clear signage. As we had to get to the supermarket before it closed (ROCK'N'ROLL), we opted to do 18 holes instead of the full course. There are two different courses to choose from and you can do one for £6.45, the full 36 for £10.95 or there are combo deals for bowling and lazer tag as well. We decided on the "Lost Hut Trail" and off we went! Thus proceeded 45 minutes of frustration, fun and giggles around the course. In retrospect, we wish we had done both or opted for the "Hidden Cove" course (which boasts a volcano in the middle), but we will be back to try this at some point. It's of note that the venue has a bar (for golf/beer times) and does a 2-4-1 offer on a Wednesday. It would make a fun place for a date or a birthday party. Yeah, it's not high brow entertainment... but if you want to challenge someone to a duel - there are worse ways than with a miniture putter and a brightly coloured plastic ball. Recommended.

Since we always go bowling when in star city, we decided to try something else. We had amazing time…read morehere withgroup of friends. We thought it was going to be empty since it didn't look like anyone was going in or out by the entrance. We were suprised it was full of people. From couples to families. So many different crazy courses to keep you entertained and competitive till the end.