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    Rivermead Leisure Complex

    3.0 (5 reviews)

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    Oasis Leisure Centre - Oasis Leisure Centre

    Oasis Leisure Centre

    (18 reviews)

    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.

    Brookes Sport Botley - Gym

    Brookes Sport Botley

    (3 reviews)

    Westminster Sports Centre is open to everyone - not just students from brookes! Also its not one of…read morethose gyms that is only open to members - you can buy a single swim or gym session without signing up to a membership! Its one of the cheapest gyms i've been to and the by far the friendliest. It has a number of facilities, including a 25m swimming pool, a 55 station gym, two squash courts, a large meeting/training room, badminton facilities, basket ball facilities, a number of tennis courts, 6 outdoor pitches and an 18 hole golf course. The pricing of the memberships are very competitive. Don't expect to pay more than about £25 per month for most if not all of the facilities. Locals get discounts (as well as service men & women) and can knock up to a quarter of the price. Prices range from £16 to £48 per moth depending on the degree to which you wish to use the facilities. Phone up to check availability. The swimming pool is kept to about 30.5 degrees centigrade. The gym is large and spacious and airy. It can get a little hot later into the evening but there is air conditioning (which i've been told is being improved). The squash courts are the best i've played in. The centre offers a number of classes that can be found on their website, including spinning which is well run and is usually in the air-conditioned training room. The staff are friendly and are always up for a good chat! Its always nice to come in from a long day at work and see a smiling happy manager behind reception. The place is kept clean and tidy by a team of dedicated lifeguards and cleaners who if asked will always help you out. There are only a few negatives: the car park at the moment is a hassle - as i gather it, the university don't like people parking and have a barrier system in place. The bad side of this deter ant on us as customers is that we have to get a token from reception, for every time you use the facilities. This is a hassle to begin with but you get used to it. If you don't think you'd like this then you can always ride your bike/moped/push bike to the centre; which provides bike storage by the barrier to the car park. Or alternatively you could catch the U1, which stops on the campus by the teaching facilities. The other negative is that sometimes its frustrating to see managers or reception staff sat behind reception doing nothing (browsing facebook/ playing games/ texting) whilst the cleaners are in the gym, and the lifeguards on poolside. Admittedly the centre is never that busy, but its plain to see there are jobs to be done to tidy the place up a bit. If not just in the reception area? Anyway over all its a great little centre that not that many people know about and really has a family/friendly feel to it. I would definitely recommend it and its always there to try.

    It's a big shame, but it has been ruined. My children have both used the swimming lessons there for…read moreyears very happily. Unfortunately, there is a new incompetent manager (Stuart McC) there. When my daughter progressed to the end of the swimming lessons with 2 lessons to go, we informed Stuart that we would like the refund for 4 lessons that were still pre paid. He explained that nothing could be done about the 2 lessons that were for the end of the course (fair enough). However, he could refund the remaining 2 lessons....in 57 days time at the earliest because he was 'short staffed'. I have been a manager for years and this does not wash. When produced with a letter he signed himself saying that you could get a refund, I received a nonsense email filled with bluff, jargon and no substance. Still curious as to whether it will take 57 days to get a £16.00 refund. Personally, I wouldn't sign up to any sports membership here whilst this incompetent manager is in charge, unless you want to find yourself in this situation over any membership fees.

    Rivermead Leisure Complex - recreation - Updated May 2026

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