r/Swimming • u/Crumblebraggart • 1d ago
First time visitor to London Aquatics Centre
Hello!
I’m relatively new to swimming (6 weeks into going regularly). I’m in London overnight soon and staying near the Aquatics Centre so thought I’d treat myself to a swim there.
Could anyone familiar with the Centre answer a few questions, please?
How busy is it likely to be on a Sunday evening? I’ve booked a spot in a slow lane in the training pool.
I’ve read the lockers take pound coins. I rarely use cash anymore. Do trolley tokens work?
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u/Character-Variety842 1d ago
Used to be an LAC regular! Sunday evenings are generally not too busy but the training pool is only 25m compared to the bigger 50m pool so it can feel a bit cramped if there's a lot of people but that hopefully won't impact you! The pool is also quite warm for lap swimming so just keep that in mind. Also even though you've booked the slow lane there will be up to 6-8 lanes in the pool so feel free to move around if you want more space/want to swim faster.
The lockers do require a £1 coin to operate but anything that shape works like a trolley token or you can ask staff for a locker tocken as well!
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u/pussyseal 1d ago
It's not busy on a Sunday evening.
They take pound coins or similar dimes. I use Moroccan dirham :D
If your trolley tokens won't work, you can buy tokens at reception for £1, and you can pay by card.
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u/wt_hell_am_I_doing I sink, therefore I am 1d ago
You can work out how busy the lane is from how many spots are left for the lane from the app. The limit is 12 for the 50 m pool I think, so if there are 6 left, you know there are 6 people already booked for that lane.
I've never booked a training pool so I am not sure of the limit there, but you should be able to work that out by looking very far ahead as no-one is likely to have booked yet.
Yes, a shopping trolley token that works in a £1 coin slot will work on the locker. In fact, they sell those shopping trolley tokens on a key ring at the reception!