Where are the water parks in London?

Hey, good question! Only, I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you here – I’m fairly new to London, having moved last September, and am yet to experience summer and the heat wave in The Big Smoke. But I’m a swimming fan, that’s for sure. I come from a Mediterranean island, and the thought of having to face the hot season without being able to swim in cool water under the sun is a frightening one. Having always swum in the sea though, there is no way I’ll ever have the nerve to throw myself in a horrible brown pond in a park, sharing it with lovely-looking but absolutely filthy ducks and swans. So if I can’t have salty water, the substitute must be very artificial and aseptic – which is blue-coloured and clean. Which is, a swimming pool. Thus, my question is: where are the open-air swimming pools in London? Those where you can go for the day, relax, work on your tan, and swim and swim and swim when you’re hot? Normal swimming pools will do, even if they’re not water parks. Louis, do you think we can share the info?

swimming pool water park summer swimming

Posted over 2 years ago by Vero

As far as I know there was a water park in Hemel Hempstead. I went years ago though and cant remember what its called. edit its called Aquasplash <3 google.

Posted over 2 years ago by LittleEmily

You can swim in one of the ponds in Hampstead Heath and there’s also a part of the Serpentine in Hyde Park (the Hyde Park Lido).

But apart from interesting company and wonderful surroundings, there are no exciting extras…

Posted over 2 years ago by pottytime

hi, look what I found here: http://sftw.lastminuteliving.com/something_for_the_weekend/2006/07/i_wanna_be_a_wa.html

Posted over 2 years ago by Vero

Add London Fields to that list, Vero, it reopened recently. Though I haven’t been, I’m told it’s heated and very pleasant, anyone confirm? Brockwell Park stays open later on a Saturday, puts music on and kicks the kids out, so is probably the trendiest, if I haven’t just aged 20 years typing trendy.

Not sure where in the Med you’re from, but I’d sooner take my chances in the man-made lake of Frensham Ponds than most of the Aegean for example, while it was on the Italian Riviera last summer that our fort-building was ended by my son trying to use a used condom as a drawbridge. Frensham Ponds is great btw, but a bit of a fecker to find, you’ll need a car, a roadmap and a navigator.

Louis, I read your question wrong, thought you wanted an outdoor water park until I read this about Croydon’s Water Palace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croydon_Water_Palace

If it’s indoor, you want Woolwich’s Riverside Sports Centre, or at least that’s the best I’ve found in SE London. One up and down lanes pool, with a 4-lane slide at one end for racing down like goons. A small parents and toddlers’ pool, plus a larger divided pool with shallows for some, but 7’ or so at the deep end for the swimmers. Wave machines, water jets, all come on periodically, and the anaconda slide also opens every hour or so for half an hour. A proper slide, snakes out of the buidling, plunges you into darkness, it’s not exactly Thorpe Park but it does it’s job. Only problem is they let kids in, and that spoils it for everyone. Deptford’s Wavelengths has a wave machine and two long slides, but the slides are forever out of order, the pool’s far too small and there’s so many toddlers you can practically smell the ammonia rising from the shallows.

Posted over 2 years ago by Mockernee

The one in Croydon (Purley Way) was infamous in my schooldays (about 20 years ago) but along with the one out in Richmond they seemed to vanish.

There were urban myths that people used to stick razor blades in the slides, which was the reason they were all shut down. I think you have to journey to true suburbia nowadays to find that sort of thing

Posted over 2 years ago by robram

Mockernee, thanks for mentioning London Fields, I live in North London so that’s handy for me and I’ll probably check it out right next Monday (bank holiday!!). As for the Med, I’m from Sardinia, a paradise on earth – which is indeed spoilt by tourism during the summer. But I went at the end of April and nobody was there and it ws beautiful. So hot that you could already swim and sunbathe. Will go back mid-June, then hopefully at the end of July again. Will definitely skip August (busiest time of the year) but will definitely go again in September, when the water has been soaking in the sunlight for months and it is as hot as a bath. Can’t wait! Have a look at a couple of pictures here http://www.costasmeraldaitalia.com/spiaggedellacostasmeralda.htm and you’ll understand why I need to be swimming in clear water from May to October!

Posted over 2 years ago by Vero

Hmmm, this response might be abit too late, but of course we can share the question vero!

But if u do want that beachy feeling, with the nice sands, surfing, great waves, clean-ish water etc and want to stay ’’national’’. Probably your best bet is Newquay in Cornwall, its a good 5-6 hours drive though (which would be equally the same time in a plane to the Med. Islands), so plan a weekend instead of a day trip. Plenty of stuff to do there, as well as a good night life.

Kudos Mockernee, although I dont really see why people do water parks in theme parks like thorpe park, its like ur on display, fully clothed people going on rides while ur there in nothing but shorts/trunks/bathing suit. What makes it worse is that its right next to the entrance.

Posted over 2 years ago by louis

London Fields Lido.

Looks sunny but it was a VERY cold day. You can see the steam coming off the water!

lido innit

Posted about 1 year ago by purpaboo