Wavelengths Leisure Pools

Always only one member at front of house that results in long queues. Wispy bugs crawling out of the grates in the pool area. Hair covers the showers and handles, even in the morning when it should be clean. Hot tub doesn’t work and won’t be fixed as staff say it means removing the tiles.

One of the first pools we visited in our search for great leisure pools fifteen years ago beyond our local pools (we have 2 within twenty minutes walk). This had 2 large flumes, bubble beds, wave machine, large jacuzzi pool, beach style, short swim round the island and I remember using it a few times as the best pool we knew. Well, it was till the next year we discovered Waterfront in Woolwich and didn’t go back.
Last summer though we were looking for new flumes for my youngest daughter who was then aged eight and decided to go back so she could sample. Probably best not to revisit past loves. The first time we went after school practically everything was unavailable because the large swim school basically took over the whole pool. No slides, no wave machine, no bubble beds, no swim round the island (permanently gated off, jacuzzi pool broken — had been for a long time). Not much fun…
Gave it another chance though and went back on a Saturday morning. The flumes were rubbish, the queues were the longest I have seen (bizarrely it had been like a massive scrum just to get in the centre — no idea why…)and you had to sit on a mat with a single water jet — not as they used to be…
Not a pool I will be visiting again but no doubt if we lived close I guess we would use it. The whole area was in the middle of a massive regeneration programme a year ago and they had just built a rather nice 25m lane pool which was great. Not sure if they have spent money on the leisure pool — there were rumours they were going to. The poolside showers were the worst I have ever experienced but I am guessing they have been sorted.
I like the idea of the library being co-​located with swimming pool — seems a good one to me. I know we would combine the two if we lived locally.
I know we wont be back unless we hear the flumes have been refurbished and worth the visit.

I’ve just joined this leisure centre 1 week ago. Mainly cause they have 2 giant water slides… and the thought of having access to watersides when I want brings out the child in me! So I joined.
But sadly, they never mentioned when I paid them for my membership… that the bloody water slides are NEVER open. Why have them, advertise for them, and never open them!
Sadly the pool is shut half of the day for school kids. I don’t get it, school kids don’t pay membership, why should they have all the rights! he eh
So not i’m sitting at home, they said maybe they will open the slides at 1pm today. But based only on a maybe. 3^rd time i’ve run and they said phone back in an hour. Maybe they’ll be open. Annoyed!
But for the most part, it is a beautiful leisure! They layout is a bit funky. Toilets no where near the changing rooms except for the upstairs. And when you want to use the gym, you have to ask for the passcode into the locked area each time you want to use it. Sorta annoying but when I find my way around this maze, i’ll get used to it all.
I may update this review if I ever get on that waterslide!

I thought I’d review the gym as no one else has.
Well, I was a member and regular user (3 – 4 times a week) for over a year and I cancelled it a couple of months ago. Partly due to boredom with my fitness régime and wanting to do something else, but also because of the declining quality and rising costs of membership meant it was just not worth it anymore.
It’s a pretty small gym, 6 – 7 treadmills, 5 or 6 cross-​trainers, 2 rowing machines, 5 or 6 stepping machines, plenty of bikes (although all were the reclining kind apart from 2 upright) about 10 different resistance weight machines and a selection of free weights (I won’t comment on the free weights selection as I didn’t use them).
Pluses: opened at 6:30am until 10pm at night weekdays, staff are friendly and usually (but not always) available for guidance and tips. Mostly it wasn’t that busy and although I went early mornings during the week, when I went other times, including weekday evenings, you could usually get the machine you wanted.
Negatives: Machine reliability was AWFUL! When something would break down, they’d stick a note up (We’re sorry for the inconvenience, an engineer is expected in the next two weeks. etc, etc) but the repairs were NEVER done within 2 weeks. These signs would stay up for months at a time, particularly for the treadmills. So limiting availability during peak times.
For several weeks before I stopped going the air con also wasn’t working, or was switched off. You can imagine how pleasant that was.
If you’re like me and tend to watch whatever is on the TV screens while working out, going at 6:30 am you were stuck with infomercials for steam cleaners, window wiping, and (counter-​productively for the gym) Zumba and other DVD workout programmes because that’s all that was on the channels that were left on during the day. Thanks to those continuous infomercials being on I quit the gym to get one of the DVD workout boxsets instead.
Changing rooms were naaaaasty cleaning seemed to be regular, they just stank, and the showers just looked disgusting. I always changed and showered at home. I will say the changing facilities for the pool are better than those for the gym.
All in all, this might once have been worth the membership fee (cheaper than LA Fitness, Fitness First, etc), but they raised prices several times during the year and quality conversely just deteriorated.
However while I was there I heard a rumour that they were planning on switching the gym space (above the pool) and the library over the library being the bigger space.

Wavelengths Library is one of the larger libraries in the Lewisham borough. As a result there is an excellent range of adult fiction and non-​fiction in particular. I have noticed how bright, colourful and inviting the children’s section of the library is. There are a lot of family events and craft activities for the children and I find that this is really wonderful to see. There are also a lot of computer terminals to use if you want to access the Internet or Microsoft Office. Overall I am very happy with this library.