Other Outdoor Pools

Glenbrook Swim Centre – Glenbrook, NSW 2773

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My experience in the pool Glenbrook Swim Centre has one of the nicest Olympic pools I've swum in since beginning this outdoor swim quest. I always love the way so many outdoor pools in Australia have gum trees lining the edge of the pool or grounds, and with Glenbrook being in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, there are eucalypts all along one side and down at one end. As you walk through the car park towards the pool entrance, you get that wonderful wafting of eucalyptus in Read more [...]

Macquarie University Sport & Aquatic Centre – NSW 2109

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My experience in the pool Swimming at Macquarie University Aquatic Centre was a bit like coming home from one of those holidays when you haven't had a decent coffee for two weeks (more on the coffee at Macquarie University later, by the way). My first chance in about six weeks to stretch out and do laps in a 50m outdoor pool so it was bound to feel good. The Olympic pool at Macquarie Uni is a classic Australian outdoor pool, with gum trees down at one end and on the slope just beside Read more [...]

Auburn Aquatic Centre (Ruth Everuss) – Lidcombe, NSW 2141

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Auburn was named after a village in England that features in an 18th century poem. My experience in the pool The Auburn Swim Centre, whose official name is the Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre, only reopened in April 2017 after major refurbishment. It was quiet here on a chilly May morning, but the sun was bright and the outdoor Olympic pool looked very inviting, especially with only one other swimmer doing laps when I arrived. The old tiles mentioned and loved by my fellow swim blogger Read more [...]

Angelo Anestis Aquatic Centre – Bexley, NSW 2207

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Bexley was named after the south-east London borough of the same name My experience in the pool I like the new aquatic centre in Bexley, not far from Hurstville in Sydney's south. It's named after the local councillor who apparently pushed for a super, modern swimming complex to be built, but very sadly, the lady at reception told me, Angelo Anestis passed away just a few months before the new centre opened its doors again in January 2017. It's still possible to see the sign Read more [...]

Botany Aquatic Centre – Botany, NSW 2019

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Botany was named for Captain Cook's botanists! My experience in the pool I had the Olympic Pool at Botany Aquatic Centre to myself for nearly all of my 20 laps on a cool Monday morning just a few days before the outdoor pool closes for the winter break. I really liked this pool, and not just because I was there by myself. It's set in beautiful grounds, with lots of grassy areas to loll around on after your swim in summer, as well as an intriguing set of slides right on the Read more [...]

Lane Cove Aquatic Centre – Lane Cove NSW 2066

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Named after either a cartographer in Cook’s time or the son of a London Lord Mayor. My experience in the pool Lane Cove Olympic Pool has lots of the attributes I love in Australian outdoor pools. There are the tall gum trees towering over one end, the magpies warbling like only Aussie magpies do, it has a lovely 3m deep end, where once there must have been a diving board presumably, but there is still a set of viewing windows, which you hardly ever see except in competition pools. Read more [...]

Sans Souci Leisure Centre – Sans Souci, NSW 2219

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Named after Frederick the Great's palace in Postdam in Germany. My experience in the pool I wonder how any French expats living in Sans Souci pronounce the place. 'Sannz Suzie', said the lifeguard at the Leisure Centre entrance when I asked. So now you know, and don't make my mistake of chucking in a French accent when talking about this suburb tucked between Botany Bay and the George's River. I must have driven past Sans Souci Leisure Centre 100 times without ever knowing it Read more [...]

Shoalhaven Heads Village Pool – Shoalhaven Heads NSW 2535

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My experience in the pool Shoalhaven Heads Village Pool is probably the nearest outdoor swimming pool to where I live (if you don’t include ocean pools in that definition). I’m amazed that I didn’t know it existed until someone who lives in nearby Nowra suggested I have a swim there. It’s a lovely spot, within earshot of the surf at Shoalhaven Heads, with beautiful gum trees and a tall pine tree in the grounds just to the side of the pool, and a rather nice set of murals and other Read more [...]

Eden Olympic Pool – Eden, NSW 2551

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Eden was named after a 19th century politician, not after anything biblical... My experience in the pool We were in Eden to swim in the ocean pools, but when you drive past a superb 50m Olympic Pool on your way into town, it's hard to resist popping in to stretch out and do a few laps as well as jumping in the rock pools. Eden's War Memorial Pool was built in the 1970s to give local kids an opportunity to swim when the local rock pool filled up with sand and meant proper lap swimming Read more [...]

Como Learner’s Pool – Como, NSW 2226

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Como was named for its similarity to the city on Italy's lakes. My experience in the pool I hadn't planned a swim in Como Pool on this particular Friday in February, but the grey skies over Sydney put me off going into the water at the harbour baths I'd hoped to visit, and in any case sea water really needs blue skies to bring it out best in photographs, so I changed my plans and decided to do a drive around to check the location and facilities at the next tidal baths I plan to swim in. This Read more [...]