Puddle Ducks at Park House Spa
Puddle Ducks teaches its 0 to 4 programme in Park House Spa's hydrotherapy pool, a converted house in Tilehurst, west Reading, with free parking on site.
Who it suits
Parents in Tilehurst and west Reading who want a very warm, accessible pool for babies through preschoolers and don't mind a small, converted home setting rather than a leisure centre.
Why it stands out
- Park House Spa's own site describes the pool as 7.5 by 4 metres and 1.35 metres deep throughout, run as a hydrotherapy pool outside Puddle Ducks' lesson times
- Puddle Ducks quotes an average temperature of 32 to 34 degrees C, among the warmest lesson pools it runs in the Reading area
- Park House Spa lists wheelchair access and sloped steps into the water on its own site, useful if you need step free access
- Free parking on site, and the venue is within walking distance of Reading West train station
- Only the 0 to 4 programme runs here; Swim Academy for 4 to 10 year olds is taught at other Puddle Ducks pools in the area, not this one
Our verdict
This is the smallest and warmest of the Reading pools Puddle Ducks uses, closer to a private spa than a leisure centre, which tends to suit a baby who startles at noise and splashing. Nineteen pounds a lesson matches what Puddle Ducks charges at its Voco Hotel pool elsewhere in Reading, so the more accessible, hydrotherapy-grade water doesn't cost extra here. Don't book once your child is past Little Dippers, since the pathway stops at four and Swim Academy for school age children runs at other pools in the area, not this one, and don't expect much room to watch, since it's a converted house rather than a leisure centre with a viewing gallery.
What it is
Park House Spa is a hydrotherapy pool built into the back garden of a private house on Honey End Lane in Tilehurst, and Puddle Ducks uses it to run its 0 to 4 programme, Floaties through Little Dippers. The pool itself is small, 7.5 by 4 metres, 1.35 metres deep throughout, and Puddle Ducks quotes an average temperature of 32 to 34 degrees, several degrees warmer than most leisure centre teaching pools.
Who should book
Parents in Tilehurst or west Reading who want the warmest, calmest water they can find for a baby or toddler, and who are happy with a small, home-like setting rather than a big centre. Park House Spa’s own site lists wheelchair access and sloped steps into the water, which is worth knowing if you or your child need step free access, though it is worth confirming with Puddle Ducks that this applies during their lesson times specifically.
What stands out
Outside of Puddle Ducks’ hours, Park House Spa runs as a hydrotherapy and accessible swim venue in its own right, which explains the depth, the warmth and the accessible entry. Parking is free on site, and it is close enough to Reading West station to reach without a car. The trade off for all that warmth is space: this is a converted domestic building, not a leisure centre, so do not expect much room for a second parent or grandparent to watch from the side.
The verdict
If temperature and accessibility matter more to you than facilities, this is the pick of the three Reading pools in this directory, and it costs no more than Puddle Ducks’ other local venue at the Voco Hotel. It will not suit you if you want to bring an audience, since the venue is a converted house with limited poolside space, or if your child is close to four, since the programme stops at Little Dippers and Swim Academy for school age children runs elsewhere. Ask Puddle Ducks directly whether the wheelchair access Park House Spa advertises for its own sessions carries over to lesson times, since that detail is not spelled out on the Puddle Ducks page itself.
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.