Tag Archives: gum trees

Berry Village Pool – Berry, NSW 2535

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

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 [...]

Camden War Memorial Pool – Camden, NSW 2570

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

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 [...]

Macquarie University Sport & Aquatic Centre – NSW 2109

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 [...]

Revesby Aquatic Centre – Revesby, NSW 2212

Named after a Lincolnshire village where the first European settler here came from. My experience in the pool My swim at Revesby Aquatic Centre was a classic Aussie experience on so many levels. Actually I should just say the venue is officially called the Max Parker Leisure and Aquatic Centre. I forgot to ask who Max Parker is of course, so I hoped for help from a quick Google search after my swim, only to find that Nicole Kidman's new son-in-law happens to have the same name, and he Read more [...]