In an age where municipal swimming pools are just not high on the agenda of local authorities (unlike the immediate post-war era, right through to the early 80s) it is good to see such a relatively modern pool. It is part of a bigger leisure centre that has a good range of facilities.
The swimming pool has a large, main pool and a smaller 'learner' pool. Both of these were, when built, and still are, fairly state of the art - they are stainless steel in construction rather than the old tile types built all those years ago. As a result they stay cleaner and are easier to maintain. The psychological effect of this is immeasurable (for me, anyway). One of the things that puts me off public pools is hygiene, and while no suitable advances have been made in the field of changing rooms the pool itself feels so much cleaner for being made of stainless steel.
The changing rooms aren't that bad here either. There are a lot of them and they vary in size, from single person ones, to slightly larger ones that you and a toddler could easily occupy, then there's the family / disabled large size cubicles. The lockers take a refundable 50p coin and are all of a good size and seem to be cleaned fairly regularly.
There are adequate shower facilities for entering and exiting the pool (much better than those foot-troughs you got at older pools - eugh!), and baby changing tables along with a big mirror and hairdryers for girls and vain men!
Bizarrely, the temperature at the pool seems to vary quite a bit between visits - sometimes it is pretty chilly, and others nice and warm. The learner pool is obviously a lot warmer than the main pool for the little ones. They have a range of plastic toys in the learner pool too, which makes a Saturday morning swim with the kids a little more fun!
There is a strict timetable for the pool which can be downloaded from their website, and is worth checking before you visit. There are a range of activities and sessions in the pools, including laned swims, scuba diving, adult only sessions, fun swim (with inflatables etc.) and swimming lessons. The main pool also has a small seating section alongside so if you don't feel like swimming with your kids you can sit and watch!
After you've swam you'll probably feel hungry, so head up to the café upstairs and grab a bite to eat - all reasonably priced and an OK variety of foods.
As I said at the beginning of the review, most new pools built are private ones at gyms or health clubs, so for a pool of this quality to be built 'for the people' is a good thing, and if you live in the surrounding area you won't find a better pool for a good few miles. read more
