Other Outdoor Pools

Berry Village Pool – Berry, NSW 2535

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Berry was named after the first family of white settlers in the area. My experience in the pool Berry Village Pool is one of those charming little 20m pools most villages in Australia seem to have. Yes, if you're a Pom, you heard that right: a village pool. Back in the UK, I can think of only one area where a set of villages still have an outdoor pool (of a similar size actually) - that's in Cumbria in North West England. Those pools are seasonal, as is the pool at Berry, which Read more [...]

Epping Aquatic Centre – Epping, NSW 2121

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Epping was named after the east London/Essex town of the same name. My experience in the pool Epping Aquatic Centre sits surrounded by bush in this leafy northern suburb of Sydney. It's a wonderful place to swim, with those tall gum trees towering over on all sides, and the bush inhabitants squawking or cooing as you plough up and down your laps. I was pleased to get to Epping Pool before we move interstate because this iconic pool was under threat a few years ago, with a campaign Read more [...]

Blacktown Aquatic Centre – Blacktown, NSW 2148

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Blacktown's name has its origins in the Stolen Generation as there was a 'Native Institution' here in the 19th century. My experience in the pool Blacktown Aquatic Centre has one of those outdoor swimming pools that look so tempting when you speed past in the train. When I spotted it over the tracks, it looked pristine, with sky blue tiles looking magnificent in the sunshine, and seemingly hardly anyone in it. It proved a bit harder to get an actual swim in Blacktown! My first Read more [...]

Petersham Pool, Fanny Durack Aquatic Centre – NSW 2049

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My experience in the pool Petersham Pool, in Sydney’s inner west, had its name changed a few years ago to Fanny Durack Aquatic Centre. Now, the great thing about the pool in Petersham is that, if you’re like me and went, “Fanny who?”, they provide a potted history of her swimming achievements on little information plaques that line the wall outside the aquatic centre. I’m sure anyone who stops and reads these will be impressed by one of the first women in Australia to Read more [...]

Wollondilly Leisure Centre – Picton, NSW 2571

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My experience in the pool Picton's Olympic Pool has had a few names over the years, it seems. It's now known as Wollondilly Leisure Centre, which is probably appropriate as the pool complex (indoor and outdoor pools) sits about half way between Picton itself and the next village of Tahmoor. But hanging on the wall of the centre are photos of earlier versions of the pool, which looks as if it was basically built in the middle of a field, and seemed to be called Picton Baths or Picton Read more [...]

Greenwell Point Village Pool – Greenwell Point, NSW 2540

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My experience in the pool Greenwell Point Village Pool is a fantastic spot for a swim...provided you pick the right time and the right weather. Yes, I came here twice on cloudy days and obviously fell foul of the closed in 'inclement weather' rule. The opening hours are a bit idiosyncratic, but at least they are clear to all. Defining if the weather is good enough to open makes Greenwell Point pool opening times a bit dependent on the subjective view of the manager or lifeguard on Read more [...]

Camden War Memorial Pool – Camden, NSW 2570

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Camden was named after a former Minister for War (!) rather than the north London suburb. My experience in the pool Camden War Memorial Pool was a great replacement for a planned trip to Figure of Eight pool in the Royal National Park. Figure of Eight needs good weather and the right tide. Camden Pool would have been fine in the pouring rain, but the steady downpour we had as we left home had passed over by the time we reached Camden an hour or so's drive away. The ducks in Camden Read more [...]

Forbes Olympic Pool – Forbes, NSW 2871

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Forbes was named after a former Chief Justice of NSW My experience in the pool We didn't expect to get a swim at Forbes Olympic Pool. We just dropped by to take a photo of the fabulous Art Deco pool entrance and noticed the shutters were up. I thought pools in country NSW had a very limited season, with swimming only possible in heatwaves between November and February. But that's not the case with Forbes outdoor pool. 'Come back tomorrow', said the cheery manager. 'It's our Read more [...]

Parkes Aquatic Centre – Parkes, NSW 2870

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Parkes was named after the town's founder, who came from Coventry, hence its twinning with that industrial city! My experience in the pool My swim at Parkes Aquatic Centre was a bit of a surprise. I had thought outdoor pools in country Australia were not generally open till November and many of them stay shut if the air temperature isn't forecast to rise above 25C, or some such random heatwave number that this Pommy regards as ridiculous. But there we were driving slowly past Read more [...]

Lambton Swimming Centre – near Newcastle, NSW 2299

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My experience in the pool Lambton Swimming Centre only reopened four days before my visit in late August and I don't think word had got around the locals yet because I had the whole 9-lane 50m pool to myself for the whole 22 laps I did. Ideally all outdoor pools would stay open all year round, but if you do need to close for winter, do it the Lambton way, with only a couple of months shut before the doors reopen in the last 10 days of August. As with any outdoor pool that reopens Read more [...]