I went a few years ago and to say I was scared of water rides the whole experience was incredibleread more

Waterworld 2000 is the best indoor water funpark in the UK. For a big kid like me, it's ideally…read moreplaced about 30 minutes drive away from Alton Towers and I've done a few fun trips to enjoy both attractions on one visit. Waterworld is located in Festival Park, a collection of leisure facilities just off the A500 ring road around Stoke-on-Trent. Fortunately, the dreadful roadworks on the A500 are gradually getting better. I aim to visit out of school holidays and so parking and overcroading hasn't been a problem but I can imagine the waterpark becoming very busy at peak periods. There is a big changing room - you'll need a 50p piece for the lockers (non refundable). There's an air of excitement as you smell the chlorine and hear the screams as you walk up the ramp to the waterpark area. There is a medium sized wavepool and a klaxon signals the start of the waves every 20 minutes. There is also another pool for swimming, splashing and which houses the assault course where you can try to get across the floasting islands. However, the multi-coloured flumes that snake round the park above your head are the main draw for me. There are a couple of twisty flumes where you can pick up quite a lot of speed if you lie down absolutely flat. There is a straight 4 lane slide where you can race your friends and family. I also enjoy the Space Bowl where a short slide ejects you into what looks like a giant toilet bowl, which you gradually circle and eventually plop out (or are flushed out) of the hole at the bottom into a pool! Nucleus was the first water-roller-coaster ride in the UK, where you ride a circuit on a raft and water jets propel you uphill as well as sliding downhill. Another great fun experience are the rapids where powereful water jets propel you round and round a loop - it's really hard to escape once you're in the vortex and there's a sense of camaradrie as swimmers help each other escape at the crucial point near the entrance to the ride. A great lesson on the power of water. There's a cafe serving some light meals and snacks. Near to Waterworld, you'll find other entertainment options including a Wedgewood outlet, cinema, bowling alley and some eating options.

Can you keep a secret guys?? Not many people seem to have noticed it yet, but a year and a half…read moreafter the Olympics there's some exciting stuff going on in Stratford again... Yep living near the Park is paying off nicely at the moment - my new local council swimming pool is none other than the Aquatics Centre! It's been open to the public for the last few weeks and I have to say it's a pretty special venue - I still get tingles every time I walk in. It's £4.50 per swim session for an adult and there's an easy peasy online system to book in advance. There are 2 full size pools inside - the Competition Pool for the hardcore swimmers and the Training Pool where they separate the lengths into two 25m sections. Personally I found a 50m pool to be ridiculously long in real life (my superwoman stamina is a err work in progress) so I tend to do laps in the 25m lanes. You choose a pool and a start time online but it's pretty lax once you're in, and you can stay as long as you like. The water is a nice slightly warm temperature and it's usually a uniform 1.2m depth all the way along (though somehow they can change the depth of different sections - the mind boggles!). It's not all lanes - there are also sections of the pool roped off for 'fun' as well as swimming lessons. Also saw signs for a total wipeout stylee 'Splash Time' for kiddies at weekends that sounded like great fun if anyone wants to lend me a child?! The reason it misses a 5th star is that the changing rooms and shower facilities are just not that great. It's spacious yes and there are plenty of cubicles, hairdryers and lockers, but the layout is a little confusing (quite a wander from the lockers to the female showers), they seem to have too many staff/cleaners milling around not doing much, and the showers themselves seem temperamental and need you to wave a hand past every 3 seconds. Is this how Michael Phelps showered?! (*pauses to enjoy the mental picture*) Ahem. Yeah I expected better. So remember to bring your own towel+toiletries, a plastic bag for your wet cozzie (I haven't spotted a drying machine yet) and a £1 coin for the lockers. And please only tell your special friends - the nicest thing at the moment is that it isn't too busy on weeknights! See you there :)

The swimming pool itself is great, most of the time quiet, you can choose your line depending on…read morehow fast you want to swim so that you don't get disturb by other people while swimming. The changing space however is really poor for this kind of aquatics centre - you can really tell you're just meant to come, quickly change, swim and leave. There are few showers and they are quite temperamental. The lockers and cubicles are just not that comfortable to use. So it's a very good pool, but come there for exercise only and not hoping for a full spa experience!

Amazing attraction even if you don't dive!…read more We came across this place today and I was absolutely amazed by it! There were divers everywhere and supposedly there is a submarine, double decker bus, airplane and all sorts sunken here! It was cool to watch the divers in action. There is also a good little pub where you can sit and watch what's going on out in the water!

I was amazed to find this on Qype. I used to go here over 25 years ago…read more I didn't dive, but enjoyed sitting in the pub while others did. Sorry to hear that it has not been kept up to modern standards.

This was the first new pool we visited this summer as part of our annual search for the best pools…read morein reach of London. Not sure how we heard of it but it came recommended so we jumped on a train to Bedford from St. Pancras and 36 minutes later were stepping out into blazing sunshine. Perfect day for a swim. We found the bus station and a bus that would drop us out of town to the pool. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere with a large Tesco next door and just one bus an hour. The pool itself is housed in a striking pyramid shaped building with various ponds and water features dotted around. No slides snaking outside which was a little disconcerting as that what we were coming for. Inside we found a great family fun pool with two slides reached from a central tower. The 55 metre 'yellow screamer' and the 45 metre red turbo 'flume of doom'. The red one is the quicker of the two and a solid slide - the yellow version a bit tame for us now. At the bottom of the slides they have a digital display that flashes up your speed and how long it took you to go down the slide - a nice touch I thought and not a feature I have seen anywhere else. The slides aren't the reason to visit though....there are much better options available elsewhere. This pool has a lazy river that snakes in a circle oustside the pool. In the summer months they open a door way and you can swim out into the sunshine and boy was it hot! We had struck lucky...water jets propel you round the route and yes it was busy but not uncomfortably so. Inside the rest of the pool is typical beach style so perfect for little ones. They have a separate quiet pool with bubble beds. Main pool has a decent wave machine, various jacuzzi pools, jet pool and a couple of swim round the island rapid streams. Really good mix of mushroom showers and underwater jets propelling you around. This is a well designed pool with plenty to do over a couple of hours. This is really great pool for under 10s that are confident swimmers - worth the journey - if the sun is out we will definitely be back. Decent changing rooms and showers. There is a cafe which is less great but fine for picking up a post swim slush puppy - I would avoid the coffee. We took a picnic and found a shady spot under some trees outside.

I take my kids here and they love it. It is around fifiteen pounds for a family ticket, which is…read moregood value, as you can stay in as long as you like. it has two slides, a wave machine and a number of Lazy River type attractions, where you get pulled around by a current. My kids love the one which takes you outside in a loop, but be warned the current is quite strong, it can be hard to get out of the loop!! There is a large communal changing room which was clean. On the last occasion we went, I took them to the cafe afterwards. it served the usual kid stuff, chips and nuggets. it wasn't too expensive, I would say it was on a par with McDonalds. Good for a rainy day.

The pool is a lovely feature in Cirencester, on those occasions when we do actually get some sun!…read moreIts well supported and rightly so. Its open during the summer and is a perfect place for a cool off, to sunbath or read a book. Highly recommended.

Cirencester open air pool is the main summer attraction of Cirencester. It attracts people from…read morepeople in the surrounding towns and villages. It is really cheap to get in, and great fun. The pool is kept nice and clean and there are food facilities on site. There are changing rooms which are normally kept tidy. It is definitely a place people should try and go for a day out if they live in the surrounding area. There are plenty of picnic benches and space for sunbathing. I definitely reccomend it for groups of friends going together, or families planning a nice day out in the summer months.

Splash is my local pool and I try to go swimming there once a week. It has a normal size pool with…read morea lane area which is sectioned off for serious swimmers that want to keep swimming lengths. There is also a childrens pool and a paddling area which is attached to the main pool, but sectioned off too. There is an area of bubbles that you can sit in situated in the paddling area ( not a jacuzzi though)and a waterfall effect which is switched on periodically. Separate to the pools is a flume, but I haven't seen that in use for a long time so not sure if that is used anymore. The changing rooms are clean and the locker system is modern. You don't need any change for the lockers,as you pay for it at reception with your swimming fee. You are then given a wrist band which opens the lockers, although I'm not sure what is to stop someone opening someone else's locker as they are not numbered, unless they are programmed so that you can only open one locker with each band. The water is usually quite warm which is always good as I hate getting into a freezing pool. There are swimming clubs and aqua aerobics on at certain times too. The swimming pool has it's own free car park too.

A fantastic fun swimming pool with waterslide and floats. The staff are really friendly and helpful…read moreand there is an excellent swimming school with great teachers ( although there is often a long waiting list) Within the town centre so good public transport and also a large free onsite car park.

This is one of several country parks in Warwickshire. It is free to wander around, though there is…read morea £2 charge for car parking (and no other real options nearby). The paths are all gravel, so it is an easy place to take pushchairs or wheelchairs. Admittedly the scenery is not amazingly interesting, but the full route takes you past some fields (often with sheep) and the pools themselves. The route is cleverly constructed so you can do the full circuit (about 45 minutes), or you can cut back and do shorter ones. There is a small shop and visitor centre, and a cafe with lots of outdoor tables - though this has fairly limited opening hours. A very popular place to take kids out to get a bit of fresh air and exercise!

Swimming classes for Babies, Kids and Adults using the Alexander Technique and The Shaw Method of…read moreSwimming. Family run, friendly and fun.