Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre

Arrive into Sydney last night from Brisbane. I'm handed a seat change note as I board what I think is going to be a smaller narrowbody plane. I notice the BNE > SYD flight before ours is cancelled and, stepping on board, it turns out they've switched to a larger 777. Either way, I'm very happy with the seat upgrade.

The landing into Sydney is weird. As we approach, the turbulence gets interesting. We circle just off the coast for a while, in a constant steep banking turn, looking straight down at the sea while bouncing around.

At Sydney, I head to the Enterprise desk to collect a car. I chat to the guy about a few issues with the last car, so he upgrades me and is excited to tell me the car I'm getting has just been delivered, fresh off the lorry, 12 km on the clock and I'm the first customer.

When checking into the hotel and chatting to the receptionist do I learn Sydney has just had its hottest ever October day, 35°C, combined with very high winds that shut down part of the airport. She says everyone is suffering with hay fever thanks to the winds bringing in pollen, so I'm guessing the wind is coming from inland, which isn't usual.

Next morning, I enjoy what I still think is one of the best Hilton breakfasts in the world, although the once-famous honey bar has been replaced with an egg station. I request the car from valet and ease out of the covered entrance. You have to turn left onto the light rail (tram) tracks, it's the only way out of the car park, but Apple Maps is very confused, thinks I'm on a rail track, and the GPS is struggling between tall buildings. At the lights I see a 'No right turn' and to the left both lanes are painted red 'Bus Lane'. Lights go green, so I figure straight ahead. I find myself driving through the tram station, one tram approaching on the right and another coming up behind. A few stressful seconds later I finally catch the T tram signals and make a right back onto a permitted road. I'm fully expecting a A$300 fine in the post for that mistake, which apparently catches out a lot of people. The next morning I walk to the corner with the valet and he confirms the bus lane rules are confusing and the tram no-entry signs are hard to see from the lights. I don't think they'd be legal in the UK. If it were purely a safety thing, the signs would be much larger and clearer.

The drive from the CBD to Leichhardt Park is only a few miles, but in Sydney stop-start traffic it takes about 25 minutes. I arrive at the pool and head to reception. First time I've been outside today, I expect a heatwave wall of heat when I open the car door. Instead, it's flippin' freezing.

Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre, LPAC, starts life as a sea bath, first opened in 1907. In 1960 the aquatic centre is built, transforming the tidal pool into an eight-lane 50 m pool with a separate diving pit and boards.

I pay the again-reasonable entry fee and head along the deck to the changing rooms. The pool deck is busy, mostly parents waiting in the cafe area for kids at after-school lessons in the diving pool. A couple of lanes are out for squads, but there is still plenty of space in the main pool.

After a few days in Queensland where no pool seems to have lockers, it's great to see a bank of fancy free-to-use electronic lockers. Tap a four-digit pin, hit the hash key, lock, unlock, done.

Out to the deck, pick a lane, and make a start. Two things hit immediately: the water is cold, and the pool sits right under the Sydney flight path. Every thirty seconds a plane goes overhead, which is oddly entertaining while swimming. I plan a 1600 m mile, then stretch it to 2.2 km at a steady (slow!) 1:40 pace.

Pool done, it's still early, so I plan to stop by another pool just across the cove on the way back to the hotel.