At the moment where would you say is the best place to go swimming locally? I have had a look at the Dulwich college sport centre and was wondering also about the Dulwich Leisure Centre in East Dulwich Road. I want line swimming where you can do some serious swimming/training and somewhere easy to get to from HOP. Any suggestions?

Beckenham Spa - admittedly a drive away, but very nice and clean. Big pool usually has 3 lanes roped off for up & down swimming only, and supposedly split slow, medium & fast - so speedy types don't have to contend with old lady breaststrokers like me!

Crystal Palace - lots of lanes, 50 m pool, lots of fit people to get you in the mood.

the 50m pool at Crystal Palace is now closed for refurbishment...

Is it? eeks, sorry about that. I've been in cycling mode for the last few months so not been.

Try the Arches in Greenwich. Not that easy to get to from HOP unless you have a car but I put up with the journey without one 'cos it's worth it. Nice pool - always at least 3 lanes free for adults at most times of the day plus they have a separate leisure pool for families. It's not sleek or modern but is kept reasonably clean and provides a much pleasanter swimming experience than E Dulwich in my opinion.
At weekends it's nice to follow a swim with a walk around Greenwich Park which is just a couple of minutes away.

We used to go to JAGS Sports Centre until we realised that we did not make the most of our gym membership. Its on the P4 bus route, next to North Dulwich station. I think its cheaper than Dulwich College. There was a problem with the drains ie smells but I think its better now. I believe ST Dunstans in Catford also operate the same arrangement. We go to Beckenham Spa these days as its a fab clean pool.

I actually tend to use the one at Brixton Rec. The changing facilites are not that great (and they're being refurbed at the moment, so even more cramped than usual), but it's on the P4 bus route and the pool itself is nice. Although it's not the cleanest of pools I found it better than the pool at East Dulwich. I recommend it if you want to do some serious lane swimming as it doesn't get that busy. It costs roughly ?3 a swim.

Thanks all. I see have more options to investigate.

Likewise, Greenwich is usually fairly quiet I find, even at weekends.

does anyone know if the St Dunstans arrangement is still going? I used to go there for about a year and it was very cheap and usually empty but I thought they had stopped letting the public in

Had no idea St Dunstans were offering this. Hope they still are!

With the way the storm drains haven't coped in the torrents of biblical proportion (whoops, mentioned religion then) and the continued leaks onto Honor Oak Road, plenty of opportunity for outdoor swimming at the moment.

Baggy Dave, never frightened to push back the limits