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.

Wow Greenbanks is a truly amazing place to go for a whole day (Yes a whole day) in the summer…read more Greenbanks has some parking out side basic changing rooms and showers. A good sized grass area to sit on and watch children swim enjoy picnics etc. There are 2 pools a large swimming pool which is too deep for young children and a shallow pool with and a water slide in this pool children over 2 years can walk around. Children do need to be watched at this pool children need to be supervised around water at all times. Over in the corner there is an area with water slides and squirters the kids love running around in that area and getting sprayed with water.

Outdoor swimming pool in Street, that is over populated with school kids both inside and around the…read moreoutside during summer. Also offers a tuck shop and a wet slide area for kids. Offers both big pool and little pool for children, and is always well staffed. Cheap entry too.

I love going to the Nuffield Gym. Staff are welcoming and helpful, the equipment is functional and…read morewell maintained. It can get busy at times, but there is more than enough equipment to go round. The Hydro Pool and Sauna (which has just been renovated) are a blessing after a long workout, and the protein smoothies served at the Café are great! It has definitely shrugged off its previous bad reputation and is without a doubt one of the top gyms in Taunton.

Been a member of this club for years. Originally started as Esporta, got taken over by Virgin…read moreActive and finally signed over to Nuffield Health. It's totally gone to the dogs. Kit is broken for months on end. The brand new hydro pool is closed more than its open. Most of the gym kit is getting on for 15 years old. Senior management don't care and constantly give excuses. There are far better gyms in Taunton offering the latest kit at half the price.

Strode swimming pool is located next to Strode college. There is some pay and display parking…read moreoutside the pool. If you take half the ticket into the pool with you they will refund you the parking. The changing rooms are open communal changing but there are some cuibicles availble if you are not keen on the communal thing! There is a large long and deep pool for swimming which is great a little cold but very clean and well maintained. There is also a seperate baby pool which can become very crouded. This pool is only safe for a set amount of people so if it is busy you might not be allowed in the baby pool. The baby pool often has toys such as floats water cans etc for the children to use. A 4 year old would be able to stand in the water saftey.

Although fairly basic decor, this is a great community place. Before changes in our working pattern…read morenecessitated a change, we came here regularly. The pool itself in long (33.3m, I think) and deep, so you can get plenty of exercise. The swimming lessons are brilliant. My son learnt to swim here and worked his way up through all the levels with support and encouragement from the coaches. I did used to find it vaguely annoying that you could only book the children's lessons on the day that you wanted to attend, ie if you wanted to book for saturday morning classes, you had to go in to do so on a saturday. Classes are oversubscribed though so it's worth making the effort. There are holiday classes (eg diving, popmobility in water) which are great value for money, although for some reason there are never as many children on these as you would expect. Sunday afternoons on the inflatables are great too. My son even had a swimming pool party there once, with the food/drink (which we supplied) in the viewing area afterwards. They all had the most phenomenal time, thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the staff were great.

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.

Burnham Swimming Pool has recently been bought from the council by private buyers and has…read morere-openned as The Swim Sports Academy. Since re-openning the changing rooms are much improved and there is a Star Bucks attached. The new staff are very welcoming and classes such as yoga and spinning are available. I do feel, however, that there is a bit too much focus on swimming lessons and classes. I use the pool just for public/ladies swimming and often the times when I can use the pool are restricted or half the pool is cordonned off for a class.

I think that Burnham Swimming Pool is a brilliant asset for our town. I was very pleased when it…read morewas bought buy private owners recently and saved from closure. They now have a starbucks coffee shop where you can sit and watch the swimmers they also have yoga classes which are good as it is normally hard to find spaces in yoga classes in the area. The only downside of the new ownership is that there are alot of swimming classes / groups and private hire times so when I just want to go for a swim I am normally limited to half the pool being closed off which is a shame - I think they should focus more on us people who just want to swim not do aqua arobics, lessons etc.

splash splash! At least that's what I would have been doing if I could find a slot to be able to go…read morefor a fun swim. The pool is open pretty much 12 hours a day but the majority of that time is taken up by lessons, classes or lane-swimming. No fun for those like me who just want to have a bit of a splash around when the weather gets too hot. I tried lane-swimming and it wasn't too busy in the summer but during term time the pool is full of fish! It's very cheap though- only £3 and you can stay in the pool all day if you have nothing better to do.

Splashland is an indoor swimming pool situated inside the Trecco Bay holiday park…read more This is a fun pool, with most of the features mainly suiting children and families. It is very busy during the school holidays and summer. The pool operates on a timed slot basis, and you are given a coloured band which indicates the start and end time of your session. The pool has a decent waterslide, a children's pirate ship play area and a separate toddlers area. There is a jacuzzi type bubble area where you can sit/lie which is joined to the main pool. There are two swimming lanes - sometimes roped off and sometimes not - which are fine for some relaxing swimming - but due to the size and temparature (Very warm) of the pool they are not really suited to serious swimmers. You can sit and watch the swimmers in a seated area, and there is a good size changing village, including family size changing rooms. There are aqua aerobic classes available during the week.

a fantastic place to take the children,very reasonably priced,well maintained,plenty of lifeguard…read moresupervision,a very comfortable changing village. Great water slide and fun pool that includes a toddler end including slides, a pirate ship area for babies and toddlers,set seperate from the main pool. Main pool includes two swimming lanes for those keeping fit. reccomend to all!

Hi everyone…read more Sidmouth Swimming Pool is a great place to have some fun on a rainy day or if you don't like swimming in the sea! The staff are friendly (although maybe that's bias because I work there) and there are always lifeguards looking after you. The pool is a 25 meters long deck pool and everyday there are a variety of activities taking place, like... - mums and babies/toddler session - aqua fit - masters (over 20s - non competitive swimming) - Sidvalley Sharks (children to teens competative swimming) - fun sessions (with an awesome Twin track inflatable! Adults can have a go too!) - adults only - 50 plus swim (free coffee!) - swimming lessons (Private/schools/and normal group lessons) Theres much more during the school holidays! Have you ever heard of Water walkerz? check out: http://www.waterwalkerz.com/ They are great fun and the new toy at the pool, 5 mins of (trying to) run on water! BIG TIP; You need to book Water Walkerz in advance! for prices and times either call or check out the website; http://www.ledleisure.co.uk/SportsAndExercise/SidmouthPool/index.asp call: 01395 577057