Porchester Centre swimming pool

Whaoo, pool 250! 25% of the way to my 1,000 pool target!

Heading a quick couple of stops from Edgeware Road heading west on the Hammersmith & City line to Royal Oak, then it's a two minute walk to the Porchester Centre.

Opened on 26 June 1925, I'm visiting on a wet December afternoon, just a few months after it celebrated its 100th birthday.

The Porchester Centre includes the pool, Porchester Hall, an event space with a library, and the Porchester Spa. The spa is one of London's oldest, opening in 1923, and features a traditional Turkish bath.

I pay the higher than public pool average £9.95 entrance fee, walk through the nicely preserved reception area and into the changing rooms, which have been recently refurbished along with many other parts of the building.

Out on the pool deck, the pool is quiet. It's a five-lane pool, but today they have it set up with three lanes: two double-width lanes and a half-width lane on the near side, all with flimsy lane ropes.

The pool doesn't look bad for its age. The 30m (100ft) length sits below a barrel-vaulted roof with roof-light windows along the centre bringing natural light down onto the water. The hall has that 1920s utilitarian feel, surrounded by upper-deck seating with round windows running down each side. There are hints of Art Deco, but nothing like the iconic pools elsewhere. The far end features an oval window that feels a bit twee against the large brick wall — the original construction budget clearly didn't stretch to the ornate stonework that might have made this place truly art deco iconic.

I've seen the pool described as 'a landmark Art Deco venue', but it's not one I'd put on that list. I can't help thinking it might not have survived the 1960s-1980s cull that claimed so many historic pools, but here it is, still standing in fairly original form and now protected with Grade II listed status.

Head over to the fast lane and jump in with one of the lifeguards who has just stripped off poolside for a swim.

Start the watch, assuming it's a 25m pool. Halfway down the first length something feels off — then I remember the age of the place. It's almost certainly not a modern length. Stop after two lengths, the lifeguard is still stretching, and I check with him… 30 metres.

It's not long before several more swimmers join and chaos follows. A couple of the guys are being overtaken by the old lady in the next lane. Every length needs at least one overtake, often overtaking an overtaker. Yep, chaos.

The flimsy lane ropes and old tub-style pool mean the surface gets choppy. Twice I take a gulp of pool water when a wave slaps me in the face. Not great.

After the opening 1.2km I switch tactics to short sets with no expectation of distance or time, just fitting in around everyone else. I never get too frustrated — I don't own the pool and it's a public facility for everyone.

I always appreciate a historic pool swim, but this one is a bit frustrating. It feels like they're trying to run it as a modern pool.