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.

The Activity Zone used to be run by the local authority and a couple of years ago almost closed,…read morebut following local protest the leisure centre was taken over by DC Leisure and hopefully they are having more financial success with it as we need to keep our leisure centres open - particularly in rural communities. Ok rant over. The Activity Zone is a good sized leisure centre with one main hall, on squash court, modern gym (currently being revamped) and 2 fitness studios. There is also a 25 metre pool with moving floor (can turn one half into a paddling pool for the little ones!!!) They offer all the usual kids activities and DC Leisure has a swim acadamy for the kids. Included in the price of the lessons is free swimming at any of 4 other local leisure centres - so a good deal. Especially as I have joined the gym so we can all now go swimming for no extra cost. (When I was member at a private gym, I still had to pay for the kids which would come to £8 - that's why I cancelled!!) Finally they also offer school holiday clubs for kids aged 5-13 (I forget the upper age!). My boys loved it, the oldest gets to go swimming every day and the girls who help love my youngest so he gets spoiled!!!!

Excellent little leisure centre. But would benefit from more local clubs.read more

Had a three day trial. Gym and pool are both large, but that's where the positives end…read more Changing rooms and showers are filthy. Toilet paper was on the floor for three consecutive days when I went. Toothpaste and what appeared to be mud had been sprayed up the shower cubicle wall. Jacuzzi hot tub is cold, not heated at all. I sent an email asking how often the changing rooms and showers were cleaned, and what the temperature of the hot tub is set at, but I never received a response. A couple days after my trial finished. I received a marketing calls from the leisure centre asking if I'd like to sign up with them. I explained that I had emailed but received no response and I asked them on the phone how often the showers were cleaned and what are the temperature of the hot tub was. They told me that they didn't know how often the showers were cleaned and that it's supposed to be done by the lifeguards..they told me that they didn't know how often the showers were cleaned and that it's supposed to be done by the lifeguards. they also told me they don't know what the temperature of the hot tub is set at and that they would speak to their managers, who would then gets back to me. I wasn't surprised when I receive no response from management after waiting two weeks for one. Conclusion: For more than £40 a month, I would expect the changing rooms and showers to be cleaned at least daily and I would expect professionalism from the staff. Unfortunately both of these things are not apparent and I would warn anybody before taking out a monthly or yearly contract with the leisure centre that you check these conditions for yourself. If I had actually received a phone call back from the managers I might well have ended up signing up to the leisure centre because it's closer to me than other gyms. However, I have now signed up to another gym which happens to be a lot cheaper and the quality is much higher.

1* because of the car park, an Absolute scum bag operation. You can park legit and prove it and…read morethey still fine you and send copious amounts of aggressive fine letters with no contact details. This car park ruins the leisure centre reputation.

Softplay and swimming often over subscribed meaning it is dangerous and scary for smaller children,…read moreI have often seen children hurt and crying inside the softplay area with no staff on hand to offer help or ensure safety. There is nothing to stop people from staying over the allotted hour play time, meaning that when others stay and more come in there can be more than a hundred children at one time the softplay center. A serious accident is waiting to happen. When speaking to the manager he offered no solution. Terrible booking service through the website (often doesn't load) Can't get through via phone (i've been on hold for 30 minutes now)

This p[lace is amazing it is always clean and has tons for children to do…read more cannot recomend it enough

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.

This leisure centre is rather nice I think. We went to book my daughter's swimming lessons when we…read morewere buying a house at Yeovil. I thought it was all rather well laid out with very good access, and very user friendly. The was a cafe near the entrance which I thought was great, a meeting point for parents and offspring. The staff were very friendly too, and when everything fell through they gave me a refund over the phone (well not literally) which I thought was impressive. The whole place seemed pleasing to me, with trees close by and good parking.

Light, bright and clean swimming facilities. Good staff. Pool itself is not particularly big or…read moredeep compared to Strode Pool in Street, but it's a nicer environment. Handily located next to Ninesprings so you can go for a family walk too afterwards.

I used to visit Bath Sports & Leisure Centre a lot whilst I was a student, being unable to afford…read morethe extortionate prices at Fitness First, it was my only real choice. The main pool is pretty standard, if a bit old now, but it's fine if you just want to come and swim lengths. There's also a waterslide, which is alright for younger kids, but it's certainly not enough to upgrade the pool to leisure status. The squash courts are okay, again fairly standard, but if you visit before 5pm on a weekday then they're basically empty, so you can easily stay for longer than your time slot if you should so desire. Which is good, considering that 45 minutes costs £7.40.

Council-owned but run by a not-for-profit company, there's a pool, classes, gym and outdoor…read morefacilities. Prices for residents are quite good, showers are not so good. You can book badminton courts and other facilities. I like the aerobics and pilates classes, you don't have to book a while course but 'pay as you go' which works well for me. I used to belong to the gym which had really helpful and knowledgable staff, but when I started working away cancelled my membership with no problems. Good, basic fitness stuff! Also has a car park.

The Link Centre has it all…read more Swimming Pool Sports Halls Outside 5 a side pitches Squach Courts Ice Rink Climing Wall Bar Cafe There's probably more than that - but I think you get the idea. My boys attended the Hi5 Kids club in the holidays and were very impressed - they were allowed to use most of the facilities - so it felt like a treat for them not a childcare solution! The ice rink is home to Swindon Wildcats ice hockey team. Another reason to visit!

I have only ever used the Link centre for its swimming pool, which is gala size (25m with 6 lanes)…read moreand is great for swimming training. The changing facilities have a lot to be desired, very small and cramped with not much locker space available. There is an amazing climbing wall available here to all those climbers out there. They also have squash courts and a large ice rink. This is more of a competitive sports centred leisure centre than a fun day out kind of place. If you want to train/exercise, this is the place to be.