[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":88},["ShallowReactive",2],{"latest-published-pool-number":3,"page-\u002Fpool\u002Fblackbrook-leisure-centre":4,"surround-\u002Fpool\u002Fblackbrook-leisure-centre":79},303,{"id":5,"title":6,"address":7,"body":8,"city":46,"country":47,"date":48,"description":49,"device":50,"distance":51,"extension":52,"featured_image":53,"gallery":54,"googlemap":57,"lanes":58,"latitude":59,"length":60,"longitude":61,"meta":62,"metaDescription":63,"metaTitle":63,"navigation":64,"ogImage":63,"pace":65,"path":66,"pool":67,"published":64,"rating":68,"review":69,"robots":63,"schemaOrg":63,"seo":70,"setupLanes":63,"setupLength":63,"setupUnits":63,"sitemap":71,"state":73,"stem":74,"tags":75,"type":76,"units":77,"url":63,"__hash__":78},"pools\u002Fpool\u002F182.blackbrook-leisure-centre.md","Blackbrook Leisure Centre & Spa","Blackbrook Leisure Centre & Spa, Blackbrook Way, Taunton TA1 2RW, UK",{"type":9,"value":10,"toc":42},"minimark",[11,15,18,21,24,27,30,33,36,39],[12,13,14],"p",{},"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!",[12,16,17],{},"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.",[12,19,20],{},"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.",[12,22,23],{},"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.",[12,25,26],{},"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.",[12,28,29],{},"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!",[12,31,32],{},"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.",[12,34,35],{},"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!",[12,37,38],{},"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!",[12,40,41],{},"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.",{"title":43,"searchDepth":44,"depth":44,"links":45},"",2,[],"Taunton","UK","2025-03-18","Second time lucky!","Garmin Forerunner 965",3200,"md","blackbrook-leisure-centre-square.webp",[53,55,56],"blackbrook-leisure-centre-sunrise.webp","blackbrook-leisure-centre-entrance.webp","https:\u002F\u002Fmaps.app.goo.gl\u002FnXQYad9eGRq8MXEB8","6",51.00958,25,-3.07162,{},null,true,"1:30","\u002Fpool\u002Fblackbrook-leisure-centre",182,30,"Just another cookie-cutter 25m British indoor pool. Facilities were fine, but nothing exciting—just another one to add to the list.",{"title":6,"description":49},{"loc":66,"lastmod":72},"2025-05-29","Somerset","pool\u002F182.blackbrook-leisure-centre",[],"Indoor","m","AZrY47Yy7HRJlDxODqItDjjA8kD3jQQadoRBXTNMxnU",[80,84],{"title":81,"path":82,"stem":83,"children":-1},"Exe Valley Leisure Centre","\u002Fpool\u002Fexe-valley-leisure-centre-swimming-pool","pool\u002F183.exe-valley-leisure-centre-swimming-pool",{"title":85,"path":86,"stem":87,"children":-1},"Alfreton Leisure Centre","\u002Fpool\u002Falfreton-leisure-centre","pool\u002F181.alfreton-leisure-centre",1789678155866]