Nantwich is making a splash
‘Many people who have lived in Nantwich for a while comment that they didn’t know we were here,’ said Dominic Crisp. ‘Then it goes to the other extreme where we have people travelling up from Cornwall just for a dip.’
Dominic is talking about Nantwich’s very own outdoor brine pool. Named as one of the Telegraph’s best outdoor pools in 2014, it’s one of the few remaining inland brine pools left in the UK and has been open since 1935. Located in the outside of the Everybody Sport and Recreation centre on Wall Lane, the pool is opened from May through to around October.
‘The leisure centre received a £1.5 million renovation in 2012. The facilities were updated such as the changing rooms, studio and a new fitness suite, but the infrastructure of the pool has never changed – only what’s around it,’ said Dominic, a duty manager at the centre, which is an independent non-profit distributing organisation with charitable status.
When the pool is reopened each year, it is filled with fresh water and brine pumped in from a pump a quarter of a mile down the road. The pool water temperature is then maintained at 74°F and through solar gain is usually much warmer.
Last year, figures for casual swims in the brine pool totalled to 15,942, while the bi-annual Cheshire Triathlon set in Nantwich drew in an additional 1,635 people. ‘Back when the pool first opened in 1935, it was a popular spot for recovering soldiers in the First World War,’ said Jade Griffin, the content marketing executive at Everybody Sport and Recreation. ‘The medicinal benefits of the Nantwich salt pit have been known for hundreds of years. Those who suffer from problems such as rheumatism still visit to use the pool as a treatment, but now it’s more well known as a great facility for leisure, triathlon training and a family day out.’
Jade says that on a hot day, there are massive queues outside of the leisure centre. They can only allow a maximum of 155 people into the pool area, whether that is swimming or just sunbathing around the pool’s edge. ‘We operate a one-in-one-out policy,’ she continued. ‘It’s a popular draw in the summer especially as we now operate two hours free parking.’
