Swimming Pool

TheMimsy · August 2016

Where do Stroud Greeners swim? Park Road, Archway, or?
And is anybody here old enough to remember the Hornsey Road Baths being operational?

I am looking for a coach: I am a competent swimmer but I am looking for someone who can motivate me doing a few lengths and improve my technique. Any help/recs welcome!

Luirette · August 2016

I go to Clissold, which has a nicer pool than Park Road. It's a deep pool which has permanent lanes. There's a separate shall pool for kids. A friend of mine also has adult swimming classes there and is enjoying it.

HolbornFox · August 2016

I always cycle to Parliament Hill, such a stunning pool. One of the triathlon clubs round here does lessons at Park Road i think.

trainspotter · August 2016

Park Road is fine. I love the lido, which is empty apart from the 3 hottest days of the year, and the changing rooms are less scummy than they used to be.

TheMimsy · August 2016

@trainspotter

I love the Lido, too. The only issue is that is closed between 1 and 2, which is a bit if a bummer for me...

marko · August 2016

Clissold Park is my preferred pool, H&I has longer opening, so I sometimes go there for convenience and occasionally I go to London Fields. Worth noting that a Better swim membership gets you into all of the pools they operate - so that's Islington, Hackney and Camden.

NorthNineteen · August 2016

Kings Cross in basement of the new Camden council offices

J_R · August 2016

I like London Fields lido (50m and heated during the winter) which although not that local is a 15-20min cycle away and happens to be on my way to work. They offer free swim doctor coaching twice a week. Tuesday evening and Thursday morning I think. I've done it and found it useful. Better might do this at other pools? I was put off going to the Park Road lido by some bad online reviews about cleanliness. Has anyone here had a bad experience with this? I might try the Parliament Hill pool.

HolbornFox · August 2016

Park Road had a massive refit and new filtration system added recently, although i am not a huge bleach fan so go to the ponds when i can... the fishes and plants live there quite happily after all.

Mirandola · August 2016

Google swimmingroundlondon - excellent blog.

Papa · August 2016

We take the kids to Highbury Fields pool for lessons and swimming, as it feels a bit warmer and more welcoming than the Park Road one, even though it could do with a refurb. I wanted to take the kids to the Park Road lido after work when it was hot a few weeks back, but unfortunately after 5.30pm they close the paddling pool and make it lane swimming only in the entire lido. It annoys me that they cannot find just one lane so that families can go after work. Just one lane that all can use - or keeping the paddling pool open - would not hamper anyone's proper lane swimming. Classic British council-thinking. You wouldn't get that in most places in continental Europe. I understand that this moan may fall on deaf ears if you aren't a parent, but trust me not being able to enjoy the simple pleasure of taking your kids swimming to the outdoor pool on a summer's evening is very annoying.

HolbornFox · August 2016

We used to go to Dobbs Weir when i was a kid and swim in the river lea, heady days but probably not allowed now. Also used to go to Sussex sometimes and jump in the Cuckmere river which would then propel you out to sea in a rip tide, we used to be pushed out for what seemed like miles, i do wonder now when people drown if this lack of cognitive learning is why.

krappyrubsnif · August 2016

Used to use Park Road with the kids but haven't been there on a regular basis for years, due to poor hygiene (never any soap in the toilets), filthy and vandalised changing rooms and unhelpful, jobsworth staff. People say it is improved but I went not long ago and it seemed much the same to me - overcharged for entry, would you believe it, as well.

Now I use Highbury which is much better, clean(ish), well run, easy to get to, and convenient for going in and out of town - no brainer.

Papa · August 2016

I had a conversation with a German family when we were on holiday a few years ago about the UK and swimming outdoors and family trips and days out. They asked whether we were near places we could go to with lakes that you could swim in? I explained that we don't really swim in lakes in the UK? 'But you do have lakes don't you?' was the reply. 'Yes', I said, 'but you're not allowed to swim in them.' 'But why not?' was the response from the completely baffled Germans. I know obviously there are a handful of swimming club lakes and in London we have the Serpentine and Hampstead Ponds, but the fact that they were so bemused that we'd have all these lakes in the UK and ban people from swimming in them said a lot.

Sutent · August 2016

I don't think I could swim in the Finsbury Park lake. It doesnt look too appealing. Thankfully the canards seem happy

HolbornFox · August 2016

As above, lakes are eco-systems, especially stream fed ones.

It's ludicrous that people would rather swim in an 'art installation' in Kings Cross, mind you i guess lakes are free.

gardener-joe · August 2016

...

nev · August 2016

Hornsey Road baths was the first pool I swam in when I moved to London in 85....think it must have closed soon after...I remember it as a classic Victorian swimming pool very similar to Marshall street pool in Soho which is still well looked after and going strong. I also have fond memories of the outdoor lido at Bounds Green (now Sunshine garden center) which I remember as having a really high diving board. I'm training for a triathlon at the moment so tend do my training at Hampstead pond as the long lengths make the difference (think the longest side is over 100m), but found during the winter months I had to wear so much wetsuit gear it became so impractical to do much training so switched to either Highbury pool or London fields Lido. London fields has the advantage of being 50m so think many triathlon types go there for that very reason. Its probably a good place to find a coach / trainer.

Marquis · August 2016

I like Marshall Street. It's 30.5m (100 feet, Victorian) and relatively clean for a London pool. Clissold can be positively filthy at times, especially as they are not very good at policing their no-street-shoes-in-the-wet-area policy, and there's many who don't bother showering off before they enter the pool. Sometimes you can tell the brand of their body products when you're in the water (Lynx is easy, as is Dove). Also, as I am in it for the quiet, focused lane swimming thing, it's too many kids for my liking - sorry, Papa L! If you are looking for a family-friendly pool, you could also consider Ironmonger Row near Old Street station. It was relatively recently refurbished and they usually have half of the pool reserved for non-confident swimmers and kids. They also have a separate, shallow kids pool. Due to the narrow lanes that are the result of that, you often get lane rage in the swimming lanes, and I also can't stop sneezing for a whole day afterwards whenever I have been there. Other than that, London Fields gets another vote from me.

HolbornFox · August 2016

Ironmonger Row, that just reminded me that nearby Golden Lane pool was family friendly as well when i was a kid... just had a look online and it looks in good nick.

eerke · August 2016

Thought I ought to comment, as this is something I actually have experience of. I haven't seen mentioned (unless I missed it) the pool hidden behind MacDonalds on Archway roundabout. Also a 'Better' centre I went to it & found it to be tropical and completely useless for exercise swimming, it is however very good for kids, as it has waves and flume etc. Possibly the easiest pool to get to from north SG, as there isn't a big hill in the way. For triathlon/OWS training there is also the West Reservoir Centre (by the castle on Green lanes: leave finsbury park by the middle gate on seven sisters' road, down road straight opposite, turn left and you emerge almost there). They are open for swimming 3 times a week. Big loop is 750m. (Free with the Better "Triathlon" membership). They make you do a safety session first. It sounds like it should be grim, but it is actually pretty nice & much better than Salford Docks. There is also the 50m pool at the London Aquatic Centre. With a little effort by bike it is less than 20 min (without breaking law), but I prefer to take my time by going to Stamford Hill, where I drop down to the river Lee & then it is riverside all the way. Short cobbled sections. Unlike the Manchester Aquatic Centre the 50m pool always seems to be open for lengths, as they open the training pool for kids. Hackney Wick on overground is easy walking distance from it. It is nicer than the other pools, although not as nice as the Manchester Aquatic Centre. Big windows, so impressive in a storm, and you may have seen it on TV during the 2012 olympics. There is (or was) one by Highbury & Islington station, but I found It unpleasantly warm, so haven't been in years. The only other one I can think of that hasn't been mentioned is the one on Caledonian Road, but it is nothing special.

J_R · August 2016

On the subject of the Archway pool I'm pretty sure that, like me, many SG people with children have spent Sunday morning in that place. Fantastic kids swimming lessons all year round. The advantage being that it tires the kids out and makes them much more manageable for the rest of the Sunday. However, I would avoid for proper swimming. There is a memorable episode of South Park about children's swimming pools.

Papa · August 2016

I wan't including Finsbury Park in my lakes to swim in, was thinking more those outside of the M25 where it's a bit greener and cleaner. All the indoor pools round here are family friendly and all fine. My complaint was that swimming outdoors with the kids at the lido isn't possible on a summer's evening - even if they allocated just one lane, it wouldn't stop the adults who want to swim lanes.

NorthNineteen · August 2016

There's not many lakes near London that aren't reserviors though?

Sutent · August 2016

There are loads of lakes in Hertfordshire if you cycle up the river Lee

Papa · August 2016

There's quite a few lakes within 30 mins to an hour of London that do boating / waterskiing / windsurfing etc but have no swimming. My point was that there's a lot of lakes in the UK that ban or actively discourage swimming, whereas in Germany it would be encouraged.

TheMimsy · August 2016

@JR

Archway is great for kids, agree!
Not so great for lane swimming.

gardener-joe · August 2016

...

miss annie · August 2016

This book on swimming the Thames is interesting, plenty of people do swim there. There's a lake in Epping Forest, I swam in it when I was a kid, no idea if it's actually allowed but you can get there by tube. The no swimming notices that pop up everywhere are probably an attempt to counter the idiocy of people who are drunk, unable to swim or have no idea of how much wild water varies from a swimming pool.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Top Posters

Swimming Pool

Comments