点评:Despite the heatwave experienced in England throughout the summer of 2026, when we visited from Scotland we brought the rain! Not ideal for an outdoor swimming pool however we looked at it from the point of view we were going to get wet one way or another.
The Leisure Centre is located in a residential area of the town and we were glad we had sat nav as we were directed around the backstreets and concluded it‘s not somewhere you would come upon by chance. The car park is a good size and we had no trouble getting a space (it’s free).
Admission for swimming for two adults and two children was grouped as a Family Pass costing £34 which, once wristbands were attached, we were advised allowed for entry all day including leaving and coming back later.
The communal changing areas had showers, individual cubicles and lockers with the latter subject to a £1 deposit refundable when the locker was reopened with the key. The key was attached to an adjustable wristband. There was a hairdryer however I didn’t manage to work out how it operated!
There were three pools, all heated. The outdoor chill meant we were glad to get into the water to warm up and that remained the situation during our visit. At one point when it was raining heavily my wife, I and our two grandchildren were the only people who remained in the pool as others sought shelter and the lifeguards took turns at using an umbrella! It was never busy in any case and we spent most of the time in the pool designed for learners which had a chute our grandson enjoyed using. We also had an inflatable beach ball, as did others and we all had difficulty controlling these in the wind. The main pool for confident swimmers was a bit cooler but there was an opportunity to swim lengths if you wanted.
The flume, which is sizeable, was only open at limited times during our session due to a shortage of lifeguards to cover the pools and the slide so that was a bit disappointing. A lifeguard supervises the release of each person at the top to avoid collisions and to ensure safety in general. It was very good fun when open and we all had a shot coming down this on multiple occasions, getting more confident and quicker each time. The flume is separate from the pools and there is just a long run off into a plunge pool at the end which gave me the opportunity to almost create a tsunami on my final slide!
We were conscious that photography is not usually encouraged in these settings and didn’t take any photos but one or two parents were snapping their children so presumably it is feasible.
I was taken back in time when getting changed into dry clothes in the cubicle with memories of poolside cubicles in swimming baths in Glasgow as a child where it was always impossible to get completely dry!
We had a drink and snacks in the café onsite which was fine.
Overall an enjoyable experience.
翻译:尽管2026年夏天英格兰各地都遭遇了热浪,但当我们从苏格兰前来时,却带来了雨水!对于露天游泳池来说这可不是什么好事,不过我们想,反正无论如何我们都会湿身的。
该休闲中心位于镇上的一处居民区,很庆幸我们带了导航仪——它引导我们穿行于僻静的小巷中,由此我们意识到这里绝非一个能偶遇的地方。停车场规模不错,我们轻松就找到了车位(而且免费)。
两位成人和两名儿童的游泳门票被打包成“家庭套票”,价格为34英镑。购买套票后我们会得到腕带,工作人员告知这样就能全天自由进出泳池区,即使中途离开后也能再次进入。
公共更衣区设有淋浴设施、独立隔间以及储物柜。使用储物柜需支付1英镑的押金,归还钥匙并重新打开柜门后该押金便会退还。钥匙系在一个可调节的腕带上。那里有一个吹风机,但我怎么也弄不懂该如何使用它!
总共有三个游泳池,全部都是恒温的。由于户外天气寒冷,我们很高兴能跳进水里取暖,这种情况在整个逗留期间都未改变。有一次下着大雨,我和妻子以及两个孙辈是泳池里仅剩下的人,其他人都去避雨了,救生员们则轮流打着伞!反正那里从来都不拥挤,我们大部分时间都待在为初学者设计的泳池里,那里有个滑道,我的孙子特别喜欢玩。我们也带了充气沙滩球,其他人也带了,只不过在风中我们都很难控制这些球。供游泳熟练的人使用的主泳池水温稍低一些,不过如果你愿意的话也可以在那里游上几圈。
那个滑道的规模还挺大的。在我们逗留期间,由于缺少足够的救生员来值守泳池和滑道,该设施只在有限的时间内开放,这有点令人失望。每位救生员会在滑道顶端负责引导每一位滑行者,以避免碰撞并确保整体安全。当它开放时真的非常有趣,我们都多次尝试从上面滑下来,每次都变得更加自信、动作也越发迅速。这条滑水道与各个水池是分开的,水流最终会流入最末端的跌落池中。这让我有机会在最后一段滑道上制造出近乎海啸的效果!
我们知道在这种场所通常是不允许拍照的,所以我们没有拍任何照片。不过有一两位家长在给孩子拍照,看来实际上还是可以拍的。在更衣室里换上干衣服时,我仿佛回到了童年时光——想起了小时候在格拉斯哥的游泳池边更衣的情景,那时根本没法把身体完全弄干!
我们在现场的咖啡馆里喝了点东西、吃了些零食,体验还不错。
总的来说,这是一次愉快的体验。