Swimming Pools in East of England

These three are not really the same kind of place, so the choice depends less on location than on what your children can already do in the water. Loughton Leisure Centre is the only indoor pool of the three, and reviewers keep coming back to the quality of its swimming lessons, with several saying their children moved up a stage within months. It has a cafe, baby change, free parking within the posted morning and evening cutoffs, and a bouncy castle birthday party option that reviewers single out. Two cautions from reviews: pool sessions open at the posted start time and not before, and the family changing rooms are shared and fill quickly.

Southlake Waterpark in St. Neots is an outdoor inflatable obstacle course that reviewers compare to Total Wipeout, and it is physically demanding enough that it suits confident swimmers of around eight and up rather than younger children. Reviews praise the staff, note that late arrivals are accommodated if you contact the venue, and repeatedly mention the home-made cake in the cafe. Changing facilities are communal, and socks are worth bringing for grip on the wet surfaces.

Swim Lakeside in West Thurrock is open water swimming with an air bag and inflatables added, and it has a firm entry rule: every swimmer must be eleven or older and able to swim 400m continuously. Reviewers say the water is cool early in the season and that a shorty wetsuit, brought or hired, solves that. An hour is described as enough to complete the inflatable course with several jumps. There are lockers, hot showers, and a coffee machine on site, and parking at Lakeside Shopping Centre is free, which makes it easy to pair with a shopping trip.