Anonymous
This is a big complex with big facilities. I want to love it as it is fabulously located in the city centre and is literally a two-minute walk from my home. Other swimmers are mostly very courteous. The water always looks and feels relatively clean. The complex is comfortably heated, as is the water, and there seems to be a lot of helpful staff.
Unfortunately, it does not spoil public lap swimmers. There are only four lanes available for public lap swimming at most times of the day, and public lanes are often not available at all on weekends. The lanes have only thin lane ropes separating them rather than the anti-wave type that most pools have. The majority of the time the public lanes are set up across the pool rather than lengthwise, which you get used to, but they have no warning flags for back-stroke swimmers when in this configuration.
You have to wear a stick-on label around your wrist to show you have paid, which plucks hairs out of your wrist as you swim, as does the £2 locker wristband.
The men’s change room has a shower room with eight shower heads but only three give a reasonable shower (the others have pathetic water pressure and/or their self-timers stop the water every ten seconds). There are no private showers. The men’s shower room and change room have never looked clean when I have used them.
Unfortunately, it does not spoil public lap swimmers. There are only four lanes available for public lap swimming at most times of the day, and public lanes are often not available at all on weekends. The lanes have only thin lane ropes separating them rather than the anti-wave type that most pools have. The majority of the time the public lanes are set up across the pool rather than lengthwise, which you get used to, but they have no warning flags for back-stroke swimmers when in this configuration.
You have to wear a stick-on label around your wrist to show you have paid, which plucks hairs out of your wrist as you swim, as does the £2 locker wristband.
The men’s change room has a shower room with eight shower heads but only three give a reasonable shower (the others have pathetic water pressure and/or their self-timers stop the water every ten seconds). There are no private showers. The men’s shower room and change room have never looked clean when I have used them.