Parkside Pool Public Swimming-Pools
Indoor Swimming Fun
Cambridge,
CB1 1LY
United Kingdom
+44 1223 44 6100
http://www.cambridge.gov.uk
parksideinfo@everyoneactive.co..
Overview
The shiny new Parkside Pool on the south side of Parker's Piece has something for every swimmer, from water babies to lane sharks. In addition to the main pool, there is a second pool with movable floor-at times a shallow children/learners pool, at others, a four-metre deep diving pool and a toddler pool for under eight-year olds which includes water slopes and bubbles! In the evenings and at weekends, the Zoom Flume and Blue Lagoon rides are open for the daring. The pool is home to a number of clubs, from the Aqua Aerobics to Diving.
Unfortunately this pool represents a wasted opportunity for Cambridge. When a new pool was mooted for Cambridge several years ago there was talk of an olympic size pool being planned. What we ended up with was far too small (25M) and as a result is usually too crowded. A couple of times I have abandoned my swim due to overcrowding. The swimming club cordons off a third of the pool periodically which adds to the problem. Most of the time the pool is laned, though fast lanes are very narrow. Unfortunately another city centre site is unlikely to come up for development for another generation so we are stuck with it. I would also endorse the other reviewers comments about cleanliness of the facilities. Floors and pool are often dirty.
I have a swimming lesson there every saturday morning at 8.00am. Even though I hate getting up in the morning, I love jumping into a lovely heated swimming pool. I once went to a swimming pool and the changing rooms were horrible!!!! But at parkside, they are great! Really clean! I reccomend you go there!!! My swimming lesson is only 30mins, I want to stay in because when I get out, I'm all cold again!!
I use the Parkside Pool in Cambridge once a week. It is OK, but hardly what you might expect for a city. Most evenings only one, or two lanes are available, and they are often crowded - so don't expect to be able to cruise at your own pace. In my experience the behaviour in the open 'play' lane of the main pool is poorly policed. The diving pool is essentially only accessable for club use. The leisure pool is restricted to under 9s (or thereabouts). Most of the showers don't work (and haven't for a long time), and even then you will be lucky if they are warm. However, before 6pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday kids with Leisure cards get in free. After 7pm on Fridays the Swim club leaves and the pool is much more pleasant.
We have swam here just a couple of times and felt it was quite unclean and the toilet facilities were unpleasent. We also found the changing rooms were dirty and smelt like old nappies. However we found that once you actually enter the pool it dosent seem to be too bad at all.
