Nemesis Nick at Swansea LC Water Park August 2018

Date: Sunday 12 August 2018
Venue: Swansea LC Water Park
Who Went: Just me

Introduction

Officially this was the final day of RCCGB Mega-GLOW-Mania weekend 2018. After the Club visited Folly Farm on Friday 10 August and Oakwood Theme Park on Saturday 11 August, some members chose to spend Sunday 12 August at Heatherton World of Activities. Although I attended Folly Farm and Oakwood the previous two days, I gave Heatherton a miss for various reasons. Whilst planning my Sunday train travel, I discovered that by leaving Kilgetty at 11:26, I could reach Swansea around 13:15, and thus enjoy a session of water sliding at Swansea LC Water Park during the afternoon, before resuming my train journey home to Bath in the evening.

Welcome to Swansea LC

When I reached the LC reception around 13:40, I was told the place was busy and I would not be able to be admitted until 15:00. That was awkward, because I would have liked a session starting around 14:00, in order to have been out of the building around 16:30 and then go to a pub for a table service meal before returning to the station. Although a session starting at 15:00 would have allowed me to be out of the building before 17:30, I'd have to make do on a burger and fries at McDonald's, in Castle Square, as there would not then be time for a table service meal at a pub on my way back to the station. Anyway, I joined the queue for the reception desk, to ensure I could get a ticket for that session, before having a coffee in the LC café. When it was my turn to be served, the receptionist told me I would now have to wait for the 15:30 session. I was still determined to go water sliding here, and willing to buy a ticket for the 15:30 session. However, I knew I'd face an undesirably long wait in the reception, with nothing to do, and I would be leaving around 17:50, which would mean having to rush a burger meal at McDonald's before going to the station. When I explained my predicament, the receptionist tried to admit me to an earlier session. Luckily, there was a spare place available on the 14:00 session, so I bought a ticket for that session. Having done so, I had to wait until 13:50 before I could proceed to the changing rooms where I had no problem finding a tall locker big enough to contain my large holdall, rucksack and laptop bag.

Background Information

The old Swansea Leisure Centre opened in 1977 and closed in 2003. During 2007 the building was gutted out and rebuilt internally at a cost of £32 million. In March 2008, the current LC opened on the site of the old Leisure Centre, and it's completely different to what it used to be inside. I know; I went to the fun pool and slides at the old Swansea Leisure Centre during my week long Swansea holiday in June 2000. The current LC has commonly been known as LC2 (even I've called it that), since the wave logo which appears after the initials LC resembles a 2, but officially it is LC. Logically though, one could say the current LC is the second leisure centre to be housed within the same building shell. This was my eighth visit to the LC Water Park in its current form, having previously been there early September 2008, August 2012, August 2013, August 2014, August 2015, August 2016 and August 2017.

Swansea LC Water Park Features

The water park boasts several features, outlined below.

Aqua Tube

A narrow twisting closed tube water slide, which lands in a catch tray. This slide is really fast.

Aqua Slide

This water slide is wider and open-top all the way down. There's a u-bend to the right just after the start, followed by a straight bit, a bend to the right, a straight bit, u-bend to the left and finally land in a catch tray. This slide gives a longer and slower ride than Aqua Tube.

Master Blaster

You need an inflatable tyre to ride this roller coaster water slide. There are several places where it goes up as well as down. If the RCCGB decided to do an organised visit here (e.g. outside the coaster season) this would be the one for the Club to have an ERS on.

The Aqua Tube, Aqua Slide and Master Blaster were made by Aqua Leisure International, but I don't know the heights of the slides.

Wave Pool

A funny shaped fun pool with wave machine. It's not on continuously, but the wave sessions are quite frequent.

Lazy River

This spurs off the Wave Pool. You swim around clockwise with the flow.

Boardrider

A surf facility which you have to wear a surf suit and helmet for. I think you have to pay extra for it; anyhow I gave this a miss.

All of the above have been there since the place opened in 2008.

Volcano Bay

This opened in summer 2010. It's a mock-up of a volcano with a slide descending from it. I didn't bother with this during my visit.

The only extra Swansea LC Water Park could do with is a space bowl. Every good water park should have one. Strangely enough, the old Swansea Leisure Centre actually had a space bowl.

My Session in the Water Park

Having changed I was issued with a coloured wristband. I entered the pool / slides area at 14:00 for a session that was officially due to last about two hours. I can't remember my wristband colour, but anyway, when that particular colour was called, all bathers with wristbands of that colour, including me, would be asked to leave. In view of how busy the place was on this occasion, I guessed they would be extra strict about calling colours out at the relevant times during the course of, and the end of, my session.

Once in the pool area, I took straight to the slides. I began by having ten goes on the Aqua Tube; each go was fast and fun. On the first of these, the queue was quite long, but for the remaining goes the queue was generally shorter (sometimes there were only one or two bathers in front of me). Next, I was determined to slide the Master Blaster roller coaster water slide at least once, no matter how long it took me to get on it, so I queued for the tyre collection point. Having collected a tyre a few minutes later I went up the stairs and joined another queue for its launch point. When it was my turn to slide, I sat on my tyre and set off on the Master Blaster, which runs around much of the water park, taking in uphill as well as downhill sections. This was a mega fun ride which was all over too soon. Sadly, this was my only go on Master Blaster all afternoon, due to the queuing times at the tyre collection point and the launch point.

So far, I still hadn't been on the Aqua Slide, and I was determined to have at least one go on it during my remaining time, so I joined its queue. When it was my turn to slide, I enjoyed its long and gentle ride to the bottom, but for now I limited myself to one go. Next, I enjoyed four more goes on Aqua Tube. Finally, I rounded off my session by having two more goes on Aqua Slide.

At this point I passed the entry / exit desk and asked the time. It was now 16:20. Although I still hadn't heard an announcement asking bathers from the 14:00 intake (like me) to leave, I left voluntarily at this point to give me adequate time to shower, dry myself, dress, collect my bags and leave by 16:30 or soon after. Shortly after I finished showering, an announcement was made telling bathers who entered at 14:00 or 14:15 to leave the pool.

Summary of my sliding in actual order:

Aqua Tube 10
Master Blaster 1
Aqua Slide 1
Aqua Tube 4
Aqua Slide 2

Cumulative summary of slides:

Slide	Total
Aqua Slide	3
Aqua Tube	14
Master Blaster	1
TOTAL	18

Outro

Highlights

Sliding the Aqua Tube and Aqua Slide.
One go on Master Blaster roller coaster water slide.

Lowlights

Water park was too busy for my liking; hence my overall slide count was lower than I'd have liked.
Long queuing times for the Master Blaster at the collection point and launch point; hence only one go on this.

Summing Up

Altogether a wet and wild afternoon session, at Swansea LC Water Park, for me to round off Mega-GLOW-Mania weekend. In order to maximise my slide count, I didn't go in the fun pool or the Lazy River at all this time. Nonetheless, it was great to slide the Aqua Tube, Aqua Slide and Master Blaster again one year on from my previous visit in August 2017. The Master Blaster roller coaster water slide is definitely the best of the three. It's a pity the place was so busy, and thus my overall slide count was down on my 2017 visit. In particular, it's a pity the queuing times for tyres and the Master Blaster launch point were so long, which is why I reluctantly limited myself to just one go on Master Blaster. Nonetheless sliding the Master Blaster once only was better than not at all.

I was very lucky to be admitted at my desired entry time of 14:00. That was only thanks to there being one unfilled place available on the 14:00 session, when the receptionist thought that session was full. It has since occurred to me that, the water park probably gets mainly families and couples, and very few solo visitors, in which case sessions inevitably end up with one place left, that's difficult to fill. Anyway, being admitted to the 14:00 session meant I was out of the building soon after 16:30, and thus I still had time to enjoy a table service meal at The Bank Statement (Wetherspoon) before returning to the railway station to resume my journey home.

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