Rediscovering a central London Oasis

There aren't many rooftop city centre pools in London that are accessible to the average Joanne, but the Oasis Sports Centre near Tottenham Court Road has one. We visited on a sunny Sunday afternoon and were welcomed by friendly locals.

A few years ago now, back in my 20s, I was a regular in the outdoor pool at the Oasis, but haven't been for a while. There was a failed attempt earlier in the year when a friend and I turned up without booking, were told we would need to wait 45 minutes for the next session and went for dinner instead. This time we booked.

The centre has heated indoor and outdoor pools next door to each other, separated only by a windowed wall. Dedicated outdoor dippers that we are, we headed straight outside. At 27.5m long it's not a standard length, so reset your sports watches. It is 3.5m deep in the deep end and just a metre in the shallows. It's narrow too with only three lanes - fast, medium and slow - but they aren't super skinny and there's room to overtake.

Perhaps because it was a Sunday afternoon the pace was slower than I remembered from previous 7.30am sessions, but that is likely true of many pools, and we enjoyed a leisurely swim before chatting to a fella who goes every day.

Sporting a deep tan from his daily exposure, he told us about the upstairs sundeck and how in the 80s the deck and the pool level were swimming (excuse the pun) with celebrities and other actors from London's West End around the corner sunbathing and waiting for their matinees to begin. This sounds far more glamorous than any swimming I've experienced!

The regulars have planted a little veg garden and as we were there just after the Queen's Platinum Jubilee there was bunting aplenty.

All in all, a highly recommended spot. Just don't forget to book first!