Blackbrook Leisure Centre & Spa

After a failed attempt last year due to a timetable mix-up (entirely my fault), I was determined to get this swim ticked off. No mistakes this time—I booked my £6.50 slot for 6:30 am the night before. No way was I going to be turned away again!

Pulled into the leisure centre car park just as the sun was rising through the trees. A truly spectacular sight—though my photo doesn’t do it justice.

Walking towards the changing village, I spotted the 6:30 am lane swim in full swing. Three double-width lanes. Lane ropes. The worst! But hey, I was here now, so in I went.

Hopped into the fast lane and got started. The pool temp was acceptable, but the water clarity? Murky. Could barely see more than a few meters ahead underwater.

The shallow end felt really shallow. The sign said 0.9m, but it didn’t feel like it. I had to exaggerate my turns to avoid an impromptu head-meets-floor situation and even found myself sweeping the pool floor with my hands on the first few strokes.

Then there were the lane ropes—or rather, the useless string pretending to be lane ropes. Completely ineffective at stopping the chaos in the already choppy water. The worst part? A strange wave reverb at the deeper end, almost pushing me back in the last few meters of each lap. Micro-chop levels worse than open water! At least in open water, the waves go in one direction!

Double-width lanes are a nightmare. Instead of naturally separating into “fast” and “fast-fast” lanes, everyone’s lumped in together, increasing the need to overtake. Within minutes, I saw two collisions. Add in the total disregard for the numerous lane etiquette posters plastered around the pool, and it was a recipe for frustration. People kept pushing off directly in front of clearly faster swimmers doing longer sets.

It’s just lazy lane management. I only ever see this setup in the UK, and if I had to guess, I’d say it’s specifically an Everyone Active thing. They rake in cash from these peak-time sessions—so why can’t they invest in proper facilities? My local, Wyndley, swaps in six lanes with proper wave-breaker ropes in five minutes. It’s not hard!

There were a couple of ladies in the lane who were absolutely flying. I started my 1,600m plan, thinking they must be doing short sets, but nope—they lapped me multiple times over 20 minutes!

Finished up a solid 3.2km session, then headed to the showers… only to realise my wash bag was still in the car. Guess it was going to be a “mild chlorine smell” kind of day.