Puddle Ducks at Abbey Sports and Leisure
Puddle Ducks runs parent-in-the-water baby and pre-school classes in a warm, shallow pool inside Abbey Sports and Leisure, a private club in Frog Island.
Who it suits
Parents with a baby or a child up to about four years old who want a parent-in-the-water class in warm, shallow water, and don't mind that the pool sits inside a private members' club.
Why it stands out
- Pool held at an average 28.6°C and a consistent 1.2 metre depth throughout, so nothing changes as your child grows within the age range
- A parent or carer is in the water for every class, from Floaties at nine months to Little Dippers at four years
- Non-members check in at the main leisure reception and are walked through to poolside; you do not need to join the club
- Strict no mobile phones poolside policy, and only one spectator per child is allowed on the side
Our verdict
The water temperature and the parent-in-the-water format are the real draw here, and the price holds up against most private baby swim schools. Do not book if you want to bring your phone for photos, since Puddle Ducks bans them poolside at this venue. Do not book either if you're hoping for a class your child can stay in past four, because the programme stops at Little Dippers and there's no published class size to check the ratio before you commit.
What it is
Abbey Sports and Leisure is a private members’ club on Frog Island, and Puddle Ducks has its own weekly slot in the pool there. The pool is shallow and warm, held at an average of 28.6°C and 1.2 metres deep throughout, which is why it works for babies from a few months old up through pre-schoolers. You don’t need to be a club member to bring your child. Puddle Ducks families check in at the main leisure reception, say they’re there for Puddle Ducks, and staff walk them through.
Who should book
Parents of a baby or toddler who want to be in the water with their child, not just watching from the side. Puddle Ducks runs its usual staged classes here, Floaties for the youngest babies through to Little Dippers for children approaching four. Every one of those classes has the parent or carer in the pool.
What stands out
Two rules mark this venue out. Phones are banned poolside entirely, which is stricter than most swim schools that just discourage them, so don’t plan on getting a photo from the water yourself. And only one spectator per child is allowed on the side, which matters if grandparents or a second parent want to watch. Neither rule is published as a downside by Puddle Ducks, but both change what a visit here actually looks like.
The verdict
For the price, a warm, shallow private pool with a parent-in-the-water format and small, consistent conditions is a fair deal, and being able to attend without a club membership removes the obvious objection to a listing like this. What you don’t get is any published class size, so you’re taking the ratio on trust, and the programme has a hard ceiling at four years old, with nothing published for older children at this venue. Families who want somewhere to stay through school-age stages should look elsewhere once Little Dippers ends.
More Puddle Ducks venues
All Puddle Ducks venuesPuddle Ducks runs its full 0 to 10 pathway at Everlast Fitness in Hartcliffe, from parent and baby classes through eight levels of Swim Academy, in a warm 1.2 metre pool.
Puddle Ducks runs its 0 to 4 baby and pre-school classes on Saturday mornings only at the Everlast gym pool on Coldhams Lane.
Puddle Ducks has sole use of the Novotel Cambridge North pool on weekday mornings for its 0 to 4 baby and pre-school classes.