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Perth Leisure Pool (Perth)
by spam330
I recently visited Perth Leisure Pool with my six year old daughter whilst having a short break in the area. The pool, which originally opened in 1988, was situated on Glasgow Road which was fairly central and well signposted, making it easy to find.
My initial impression of the building was good, quite dated but well ... maintained, however I was very put off by the car parking. The car park was a two storey concrete affair (adjacent to the pool) which was badly lit, very damp and if I'm honest, a bit creepy. The complex itself consisted of a large laned swimming pool for the more serious swimmer, a jungle type activity pool for the tots, an outdoor pool, a wave area, small slides, a large jacuzzi area, large open swimming areas of varying depth, a lazy river and two large flumes (don't think I've missed anything) It seemed to me that everyone was catered for, with plenty of room for swimmers and plenty of room for kids to play.
The two flumes were great fun and well supervised by the staff. One flume was suitable for adults and children over five and the other was suitable for adults and children over 8, both were fast and fun!
The changing rooms were clean and tidy but badly in need of updating, The lockers were very small with lots not in working order, the changing cubicles too were very small and not accommodating for families with children. The shower area is at the pool side and only had 4 working showers which meant we had to queue to use them which I didn't think was great.
The overall cleanliness of the pools I found to be of a good standard although some areas looked a bit grubby as they were in need of a coat of paint/re-grouting etc.
There was a large cafe within the complex which overlooked the pools making it great for the kids, but very very hot! The cafe sold a wide variety of snacks such as soup and sandwiches, fruit, yoghurt's, crisps, sweets, hot & cold drinks, burgers, chips, toasties etc and the prices were reasonable. I was approx £10 for two toasties, two drinks and two cakes.
The pool was open 7 days from 10am and admission was £4.40 for an adult and £3.40 for a child with under 5's going free, although there were a variety of offers available.
Overall we had great fun in the pool and a pleasant lunch in the cafe. I would definitely return if I was in the area again.
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Northchapel Working Steam Show
by Lele76
I had a fantastic weekend this year when Northchapel Working Steam Show came back under new Management on Saturday 11th August 2012 and Sunday 12th August 2012. The show was held at:
School House Farm,
London Road,
Northchapel,
West Sussex,
GU28 9EG.
Although the name of the show contains the ... words "Working Steam" this was certainly not the only thing to see and do on site. This show for 2012 was raising money for St Wilfrid's Hospice in Chichester and I believe speaking to the people who ran the show the following years will see funds raised for other charities.
The costs for the tickets were:
Adults : £6
Children : £4
Family : £16
Over 60's : £5
Upon arriving at the show I was directed into a field to park the car. There was a bit of a walk from the car park but there was a kind lady offering lifts to people who found the walk too much in a golf buggy. I was greeted at the entrance gates by a group of warm and friendly ticket sellers with programmes and raffle tickets (you could even buy your ticket with a debit card!)
So now I am on site and which way do I turn! I am totally awestruck by the size and the amount of things to do, there were four fields containing things to see, I don't know where to start. I decide to turn left and start in the main field with the many full sized traction engines, after this I came to the fairground, covering the left hand corner of the first field, which consisted of many different regular fairground rides like the big wheel and dodgems. After finally dragging my daughter away from the fairground I then came across the huge selection of stationary engines and in front of these was a model tent, St Wilfrid's, a bar, a selection of catering vans including stone baked pizzas, face painting, ice cream vans and wood turners. On the other side of the field I found a selection of fire engines and military vehicles and then up the centre there were vintage cars and motor bikes. In the centre of the main field behind the classic bikes there was an arena which had a list of events going on throughout the weekend, these were listed in the programme. Moving into the next field I was greeted with ploughing tractors, thrashing machines, a lady with bees selling honey and if I remember rightly a cider stand too. Down in the third field there were heavy horses, an archery team, birds of prey and a selection of old fashioned living vans. The final field was used for the heavy horses to plough and many of the tractors also took a turn there too.
Whilst walking around the site the thing that struck me more than the size was the fact that speaking to all the exhibitors they were so passionate about what they were doing, they wanted to tell you everything about their exhibits and guided you to other parts of the show they thought you would enjoy. All everyone wanted was for everyone to have a fantastic day and I can say they totally succeeded with me. Looking around me whilst I was there I could see so many smiling faces, for me there seemed to be a real buzz in the atmosphere. I thought that everyone working and exhibiting at this show were really friendly and very welcoming.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent at Northchapel Working Steam Show. I will definitely be going back again next year and I look forward to them releasing the dates for the next show. I would definitely recommend this show to anyone looking for a fun filled day out surrounded by warm friendly people.
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Frankfurt Christmas Market (Birmingham )
by Laminator123
Every year around Christmas, Birmingham is host to one of the largest German markets in the country. For those of you who aren't aware of Christmas markets, please don't be put off. It's not just a chance to buy gifts and taste foods, it's also an excellent day out for the family to feel a little more festive.
The German ... market takes place from New Street, all the way down to Victoria Square, with the stalls based inside little huts. There are all sorts of gifts from candles to scarves, to tree decorations. As for food, you should definitely give the city centre restaurants a miss for the day. Instead, go for one of the huge Bratwurst sausage hotdogs. It'll be extremely filling and very tasty.
Although it's one of the largest German markets, in comparison to certain Christmas markets, it's not that large. For those of you that have been to the Christmas market in London, this is only a fraction of the size. But the atmosphere makes up for it. Christmas lights are up, festive songs are playing, what's not to love?
Be warned that this is all outdoor though so it's best to go when the weather is nice (or as nice as it can be in Winter). I went once when it was raining really heavily. The mood didn't dampen much but it was hard to look around when there was a waterfall pouring straight onto my head. So pick a day wisely, and you won't regret it.
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