As I've said previously, I have really missed swimming since the pandemic hit. We would normally go to the gym at least once a week, and we had holidays cancelled that both had pools involved - one in Tenerife, and one on a complex in the Cotswolds - that we had booked specifically because there was a pool. On a holiday like this, we would normally go swimming EVERY day. If we go out during the day, even when we're abroad, we'll still get back in time to go swimming for an hour or so before eating. It's something I really like about holidays, and swimming in general is one of my favourite things in the world, and I have missed it.
Our gym reopened at the beginning of August but it didn't feel safe enough for us so we paused our memberships for a couple of months. But it still meant I missed swimming! We went to the big leisure complex in Barnsley on Lee's birthday, which was lovely, but it was quite busy. But I heard about this little pool in Penistone a while ago, and over the past couple of months they've been doing private hire too. They've got some very random times available, and it's £20 for the hour, which was slightly expensive, but I thought it was worth it as I really wanted a swim. I managed to snag a session first thing one morning so we got up bright and early and headed to Penistone.
The pool is in the garden of someone's house. It's a weird set up, but there are plenty of videos on their Facebook page to explain what to do. You park in the (closed) leisure centre across the road and then walk through the garage to the pool changing rooms. I left the payment in an envelope in a letter box, and we used the hand sanitiser. We had our costumes on underneath our clothes, so we stripped off and left our stuff in the changing rooms.
It's a strange little pool - you going out of the changing rooms up two steps, and then immediately down steps at the side of the pool. At one side closest to the changing rooms, there's no way to walk round the pool/no edge to it. There's just the wall. And the steps are quite steep. At the other side, there is a small walkway, which leads down to a door. There's also a viewing room where parents can sit while their kids have lessons. The pool has a step just after the steps in the first photo, and then gets quite deep - by the deep end it is two metres deep!
We got in at 8.30. The water was really warm - the thermometer said 26 degrees which is perfect. The pool isn't very long but long enough to do a little bit of swimming in, which is what we wanted. We lounged and chatted and swam and basically had a good time for an hour!
Afterwards you only get ten minutes to get out so that they can clean before the next people arrive, so we just chucked our clothes back on and sat on towels and plastic bags in the car to drive home. Lee got straight in the shower but I laid in bed for a bit reading. Jasmine is one of those cats that go mad for chlorine, so she licked me and bit my arm for a while. Then I finally got in the shower.
I've been keeping an eye on the pool's Facebook in case another time slot that's good for us pops up. I'd recommend it if you're in the area!
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