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!

For me and my wallet, this is as good as it gets. Virgin Active, at least in my neighborhood,…read moreoffers a wide variety of cardio machines, ample free weights and weight machines, and 2 studios for all sorts of cardiovascular and holistic exercises. Additionally, there is a pool, a kids-care, and a spa (which I have yet to try). Both the men's and women's locker rooms offer sauna and steam rooms, so for those less-than-comfortable gym-goers who don't want to sit in a room, half-naked with the opposite sex, this is key. Body Jam and V Core are my favorite classes. You get your heart pumping and core strengthening from these classes. But there are tons more to check out!

Swimming Nature is by far one of the best options to go to if you want private lessons. Instructors…read moreare great, you can book online or by phone, and the staff is super helpful. They also have pools all across London so it was great when we had to move house and they just transferred us to a closer pool. Highly recommended. (Edit, not sure why my location says San Francisco, but I am actually in London)

My two daughters started swimming with Joseph in Streatham last year and we cannot believe how much…read moretheir swimming has progressed. My oldest had picked up lots of bad habits in previous swim schools but Joseph has done an amazing job improving her technique, while my youngest has grown so much in confidence. Both of them absolutely love their lessons and can't wait to get into the pool each week. We had a few challenges at the beginning of the year with pool closure but the communications from the school were always good and every lesson missed is being made up. I cannot recommend Joseph, Dulce and all the team in Streatham.

The staff come in two kinds , nice and brusk and add a bit of cliquey with the regulars to that ,…read morepool and mens changing rooms are dirty and the poolstaff side need to be more pro active in sorting out swimmers who are in the wrong lane usually slower swimmers, prime example was today when I was there ,me and two other swimmers swam past one bloke who was going slow, I've complained about this on numerous occasions and promised that something will be done (clearly BS)and guess what two pool attendants were by the pool this morning and did sweet FA , maybe it will take an accident or a lawsuit after an accident for them to sort it

Excellent facilities and very nice staff. Gave this place a run out this morning on a…read morerecommendation by a friend and it's a great gym/leisure centre. I've now cancelled my very expensive membership with LA fitness and joined here for a lot less plus it's a rolling contact that I can cancel anytime! There seem to be a lot of negative reviews about the swimming facilities here which I have to say I haven't tried but the gym is great. Lots of equipment and lots of space. Perfect!