55 Best Swimming Pools In Greater London

With school-age children, often yes, provided somebody has checked what the water is actually like rather than what the air temperature is. Unheated water stays cold through warm spells and children lose heat far faster than adults do. Short swims, immediate towels and something hot afterwards is the shape that works.

An indoor pool with a shallow teaching area, every time. Warm water, no wind and a shallow end where feet reach the bottom removes most of what makes a nervous child dig their heels in. Ordinary municipal sites such as Morden Park Pool or The Greenwich Centre are where a first proper swim usually happens.

The outdoor ones fill and often move to timed entry or capacity limits, sometimes with a queue before opening. Go early rather than after lunch when the open-air swim is the whole point, and hold an indoor site in reserve. Those sit unusually quiet on precisely the days everybody else heads outdoors.

Assume yes and be pleased if not. Public swimming sessions at busy sites are commonly booked online in advance, and the popular slots on wet weekends and in school holidays go early. Check the specific centre rather than the borough, because neighbouring pools run on quite different systems and turning up hopefully is how an afternoon gets wasted.