Ironmonger Row Baths

This is an OK value swimming pool near the City. The 30m pool length is novel. The water was a pleasant temperature, not too warm for a decent workout. Some pull buoys and kick boards are available to use. The pool is very shallow indeed at the shallow end. The outside lane is narrow. Pace signs were in place and were more or less respected when I was there.

The changing rooms are not particularly clean, but they are functional. A £1 coin is needed for the lockers. (It is returned when you leave.)

Beware, if you're booking a 6:30 AM swim, the building doesn't open its doors until 06:30, so you will pay unnecessarily for time you lose while you're queueing and getting changed. That probably explains why there were plenty of slots free when I booked; I suspect people book the 06:40 but just go in early.

Finally, you have to use the "Better" app to book in advance, which is not convenient if you're not a UK resident because it won't accept non-UK postcodes. Just make one up!

This is my "backup pool" in London. It's clean, pleasant, and in a great location - about a three-minute walk from the Old Street tube station on the Northern line. (The reviewer who commented that it was far from the tube must have gotten out at a wrong station!) It can be quite crowded at lunchtime; but is very calm at other times. It's a beautiful, historical pool. The showers aren't great - the water pressure is a struggle, but the pool is so nice, it doesn't really matter!

Excellent pool, the cleanest I've come across. The facilities are maintained in good condition. The changing room is clean also.

My favourite pool in London. Always pretty quiet (bar lunchtime and early mornings). Very clean and a great location.

The floors in the changing rooms are heated. The facility has stadium-style seating to observe the swimmers. It's lovely and very clean.

The pool is usually divided into three sections for lap swim: slow, medium and fast. The fast lane can be appropriate for doing a real workout, but you might have to swim around a few folks. It's a long way from the tube and not especially easy to find. I'd swim there again.

The best public pool I tried in London… The water is very clean, among the clearest I've seen anywhere.