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 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.

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.

Chippenham's leisure centre - now run by DC Leisure. So if you join kinetika at the other North…read moreWilts leisure centres you can also use the gym here. All the usual sports activities are available here and the good size pool also boosts some slides. Nice cafe with small play area for the kids. Plenty of parking - but it is pay and display!

Allways in need of new players irrespective of age, fitness or height whether you are looking for a…read morecompetitive team or just want to play socially for fitness then come along.

Lime Kiln is Wootton Bassett's leisure centre which was run by the local authority and is now run…read moreby DC Leisure. The Centre is rather dated and DC Leisure have been putting in some effort to modernise. The Swimming Pool is a good size and is used for swimming lessons and is home to Wootton Bassett Otters - a swimming club which not only runs a competition sqaud but also a development section for beginners. Lime Kiln has one large main hall, a couple of smaller rooms and a fairly modern gym. It also has a Sauna and Steam room. It also has some outdoor space for 5 a side football. Parking can be a bit of a nightmare when some of the larger clubs are meeting - ie Sunday with Otters and Tai Kwon Do at the same time - it's a busy place.

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 great indoor play area to take the kids! They have a area for toddlers and then a bigger…read morearea for older children. The staff are a bit hit and miss sometimes they can be really friendly and other seem not to care about their customers. They sell snacks and drinks and also meals such as chicken nuggets, burgers, chips etc! It is also really good value for money as its very cheap admission.

The Swindon Jolly Roger's is really rubbish. The management treat their staff and some customers…read morelike crap. The food looks like plastic and is very disgusting even your kids won't eat hardly any of it. The parties are done very badly as well. From being behind the scenes i can honestly say it's not worth it the management gossip about customers and never replace broken objects.

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.

I used the Dorcan leisure centre to attend the canoe club which meets there on Wednesday evenings…read more Have to be honest and say I have never seen such a small pool and was quite amazed that canoeing really does take place there. But once in the water it proved to be more than adequate and I had great fun. Staff at the front desk were helpful and friendly. The changing facilities for the pool were more than adequate, however the area between the showers and changing area is open for all to view so more of a rinse off type shower facility than wash and go.

Dorcan is my local leisure centre in Swindon. Although small compared to the Link centre or Oasis i…read morelove it all the same. The swimming pool is quite small- but it does its job. I use the complex mainly to play badminton- it doesn`t get too crowded and the staff and equipment are good. There is plenty of parking and the facilities are opened till late. You can also hire out the courts and astro turf pitches. The facilities recently had a renovation so it's even best to use now!