All posts by Simon Duffin

Born in Yorkshire, now living on the beautiful south coast of NSW. Have lived and worked in eight different countries over the years and swum in nearly all of them. Now in Australia, I want this website to reflect a new life, where swimming takes centre stage and there's a pool in nearly every small community.

Albury Swimming Centre – Albury, NSW 2640

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Wikipedia reckons Albury was named after a village in Kent, but there is only an Albury near Guildford in Surrey! My experience in the pool Albury Swim Centre had a lucky escape in October 2016, just a month earlier than my own visit to the place. It sits right by the Murray River on the NSW/Victoria border and floodwaters crept perilously close to the centre when the river burst its banks a few weeks ago (see the link to the video looking over the area and see the pool sitting just above Read more [...]

Gough Whitlam Leisure Centre – Liverpool, NSW 2170

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Named after the former Australian Prime Minister who was MP for a nearby area. My experience in the pool I first dropped by the Gough Whitlam Leisure Centre pools in Liverpool on a sunny morning in winter when I was desperately trying to find an outdoor pool open and was quickly discovering that in the winter months, you really have to shop around to get an outdoor swim in Sydney, even though the sun may shine and the air temperature may be up in the high teens. Don't waste your time trying Read more [...]

Northbridge Baths – Northbridge, NSW 2063

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Northbridge is named for the stone bridge that takes you back towards the Sydney CBD. My experience in the pool Northbridge Baths tick all my boxes. 50m laned swimming in beautiful salty water, with pretty big fish swimming just below you, kookaburras cackling in the trees by the water and if you go in spring, magnificent jacaranda blossoming on the water's edge. Time the visit really well and you'll be here at high tide, when the laned section must be around 4m deep. There's a sandy Read more [...]

Des Renford Aquatic Centre – Maroubra, NSW 2035

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Des Renford was a marathon swimmer who swam the English Channel a record number of times. My experience in the pool The Des Renford Aquatic Centre sits far enough away from Maroubra Beach to make me think: OK, the beach and rock pools are one thing, but an Olympic Pool and various other swimming facilities are still worth having as an additional resource for the community. On this sunny Friday morning in November, there were crowds all over the complex, with a sprinkling of toddlers in Read more [...]

Clontarf Baths – Clontarf, NSW 2093

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Clontarf is named after a suburb of Dublin, where there also used to be an ocean pool. My experience in the pool Clontarf Baths were apparently one of my favourite places to come when we lived in Sydney 50 years ago and I was just a little primary school kid, who couldn't even swim at that point. Coming here 50 years on, with the water a delicious 20C at least and the sky a cloudless blue, I can see why. Funnily enough, when I was looking up who had written blog posts on Clontarf Baths, Read more [...]

Batemans Bay Olympic Pool – Batemans Bay, NSW 2536

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Bateman was a ship's captain in the days of Captain Cook. My experience in the pool I’d driven past Batemans Bay outdoor pool lots of times in the past and always thought it’d be worth giving it a go some day. This 50m Olympic Pool is right by the Princes Highway so you can see the blue pool from the road, whereas you have to go a bit further down the coast to see the Bay itself! Things didn’t quite go to plan for us in Batemans Bay, though. The pool was (encouragingly) full of Read more [...]

Woolwich Baths – Woolwich, NSW 2110

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Woolwich is named after the area of London on the Thames, famous for its arsenal. My experience in the pool Woolwich is a sleepy but beautifully-preserved part of Sydney, with wonderful old 19th century houses and cottage gardens. Woolwich Baths are half way along the peninsula along the Lane Cove River that keeps the NSW version of Woolwich so little changed, apparently, from how it must have felt decades ago. It's a far cry from its London namesake! The baths are best at high tide, Read more [...]

Queanbeyan Aquatic Centre – Queanbeyan, NSW 2620

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Queanbeyan got its name from an Aboriginal word for 'clear waters'. My experience in the pool Queanbeyan Aquatic Centre was really buzzing on the sunny Saturday morning we turned up in mid-October. The car park was nearly full, making us wonder if there’d even be a free lane in the outdoor pool here or whether we’d have to share our lanes. We needn’t have worried, though. It was the indoor pool that had the heaving mass of bodies in it, as the Nippers and the parents filled the Read more [...]

Taylors Point Baths – Clareville, NSW 2107

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Taylor was an early settler at a time when only access to the area was by boat. My experience in the pool OK let’s get the confession out of the way, first: I didn’t actually swim in Taylors Point Baths near Clareville on Pittwater. I did get into the water – upto my knees – and waded for a while, so it does count in my book for an exercise which is more to do with mapping the pools and checking they exist still rather than me trying to do any number of laps or even get my head Read more [...]

Dawn Fraser Baths – Balmain, NSW 2041

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Dawn Fraser was apparently 'discovered' in these baths at the age of 13 My experience in the pool I finally made it to the iconic Dawn Fraser Baths in Balmain for my first swim back in the salt water of the harbour since June. They reckoned the water temperature was 20C but I think they need to check their gauge because I could feel that zingy icy feeling on my baldness - a sure sign that the water is a good bit less than 20C and a cue for me to get out of the water much sooner than I would Read more [...]