---
title: "Mountbatten Centre"
description: "Short short-course in a 50m pool."
canonical_url: "https://havegoggleswilltravel.com/pool/mountbatten-centre"
last_updated: "2026-08-16T10:56:13.586Z"
---

Driving over from Somerset to Portsmouth tonight ahead of a ferry over to the Isle of Wight for a couple of days tomorrow. I'm in the perfect place to enjoy two great pools. Tomorrow morning, I've booked a session at the newly reopened Hilsea Lido, but this evening gives me the opportunity to tick another UK 50m pool off the list.

It's a nearly three hour drive and it's another hot day. I've probably used more fuel on aircon than mileage this evening!

Arrive at the Mountbatten Centre, located right on the edge of Portsmouth Harbour. I'm heading to the 8pm lane swim session and suspect this will be a short-course setup. I can't actually see any 50m public lane swim sessions in the booking calendar.

The Mountbatten Centre has been part of Portsmouth's sporting landscape since the late 1970s, with the site's cycling track dating back to 1900. The centre was officially opened in 1983 and underwent a major £20 million redevelopment in 2009, which added the 50 metre swimming pool and modernised the wider facilities. It's much more than a swimming venue though, with athletics, cycling, gym facilities and a range of indoor sports all based on the same site.

It's five to eight when I arrive and I've not booked. It's a 50m pool, I'm sure there will be space! Arrive at reception and book in, not realising just how lucky I've been. The two guys at the desk next to me are turned away. I managed to get the last slot by about 30 seconds!

Head through to the communal changing village and I get a sense of busy! Quick change, stretch, then mess around trying to find a working locker. They have free to use combination dial lock lockers, but the first half dozen I try are broken! Manage to find a working one then head through to the pool deck.

Yep, it's busy, but mostly the public 'splash' session happening in one half of the pool. The four lanes on the far side aren't too bad.

The first thing you notice is the impressive wave form wood ceiling, the pool hall has a very swedish sauna vibe to it! It does feel a bit enclosed with very little natural light.

This is a 50m pool but unfortunately set up with short-course lanes this evening, and as far as I can tell, every evening! The boom is set mid-pool and the lanes in the far end are set up with proper lane wave breakers, and closed. I'll have to make do with rope lanes and the potential for the occasional wayward beach ball.

The fast lane is against the far pool wall with just one swimmer, and she's doing a very decent pace. Jump in and make a start. I'm after a proper standard daily session tonight and I'm not exactly sure what time the session ends!

Three things quickly become apparent. The water temperature is just right. The water is very clean, absolutely no chemical taste. The pool isn't 25m!

I suspect the pool tub is 50m and the mid-pool 'boom' looks like it's actually some sort of collapsing structure that folds down into the pool floor. So when set up short-course, the far end, which has the proper lane wave breakers but isn't open, is 25m. The near side is that less the width of the boom, about 1m, so perhaps 24 metres. For an easy session, my times just don't feel right. The 100 pace feels about two seconds too fast.

There is a fourth noticeable thing about this pool. The pool floor is odd. It's constructed of what look like composite planks, which I'm guessing are part of a movable floor system. Odd that they have fixed signs showing the pool depth, rather than the usual LED signs that change as the depth moves. Also odd, if you're stood at the lane end, you can feel the floor bounce when people jump on it!

Swim done, 3.4km on the watch. Now time for bed. I have another swim booked first thing in the morning that I'm very much looking forward to, a newly rejuvenated lido. Hopefully one of many in the UK, now summers have become one long heat wave!