A Visit to the Pods
20 July 2011 by Paul Rhoades
With the pods opening recently, and with the wonderful summer weather to contend with over the weekend Julie and my self decided we'd go and check out the new leisure center on Ashby road, next to Pitwood House.
Regular readers will be aware that the development of the pods is something which I've been very excited about, not necessarily as I'm a great sportsman or even a regular user of such a facility but as it will, in my opinion provide a great needed service to the town, specially for families.
We went along on Saturday afternoon specifically to take a look at the gym and to inquire about membership, fees, facilities etc. Fortunately the staff were well prepared for this and are currently running tours every 30 minutes for any members of the public who would like to take a look around.
The pods for any one outside of the area are a dome like design build next to the 1960s Iconic Pitwood house on Ashby Road. Cited in a 100 acre park, and facing sports grounds and football pitches, the largest dome has been covered in turf. An architect friend of mine tells me this is not only to help it blend in with the parkland environment, but also because turf is an excellent insulator.
The building is very elegantly designed, in a very sturdy functionalist manner, the entrance combines customer services and cafeteria area which is split on to two floors.
Moving through the upstairs walkway, there is public access to the viewing area and function rooms overlooking the large pool areas. Both of the pools have large windows overlooking an artificial mote and out towards the park, making the maximum use of outside light and giving a real sense of space.
Also from upstairs there are viewing galleries for the main sports hall which can be split in to a series of smaller courts laid out for a wide variety of different activities from badminton to basket ball.
Also upstairs is the main dance studio which is a good size for a reasonable class and features not only wall to wall mirrors with practice bars but also most importantly a wonderfully sprung dance floor rivaling that of the former baths hall.
The gymnasium covers two floors and features a massive range of cross trainers, treadmills, exercise equipment and free weights certainly of a standard to, if not surpassing that of the forest pines. Downstairs off the gym is the sauna and Jacuzzi area all of which boast a very high standard of finish.
Also of note is the creche, while its a long time since we've had to use child care like this, we thought the charges for this facility very reasonable and provide a range rates for a variety of different activities and packages, including a Saturday session for shoppers.
Having been round the whole complex, you then return to the cafe which has got an excellent range of hot and cold basics food and some really nice coffee. Prices in the cafe were a little bit higher than I would have expected (think service station prices) but the service and quality were certainly very good considering the entire venue had been open for about a week at this point.
Swimming does seem to be more expensive than at the old leisure center, and I did feel that the cost of the sauna / Jacuzzi at over £6 for an hour was expensive. This did not seem to put of visitors as the queue for the "Fun Splash" swimming session (2:30 - 4) stretched right out the door!
Residents will be pleased to know that as of next Monday, until the schools reopen in September all under 16's will be able to swim there for free. This measure was brought in by the former Labour council following several tragedies at local ponds and lakes in the summer weather, and was thankfully retained by the new conservative administration.
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Comments
Worth a visit, there's a session at 2:30 where they get out big floats and stuff for the kids to mess about with which they'll probably like. Ratio of 1 adult to 2 children btw.
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I think ill give it a try with my two girls this weekend.
Thanks for the info Thoades
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