Tag Archives: olympic pool

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 [...]

Parkes Aquatic Centre – Parkes, NSW 2870

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 [...]

Glenbrook Swim Centre – Glenbrook, NSW 2773

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

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

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

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 [...]

Sans Souci Leisure Centre – Sans Souci, NSW 2219

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 [...]

Albury Swimming Centre – Albury, NSW 2640

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

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 [...]