Totton Leisure Centre

The leisure centre in Totton is your bog-standard local swimming pool - the kind of place where school kids do their weekly lessons and families go on rainy afternoons when the New Forest has exhausted them. You get an indoor pool, nothing fancy, but perfectly adequate for a few lengths or if you've got young children who need somewhere to splash about safely.

It's worth knowing this isn't a destination attraction. You're not driving out here specially for the water slides or tropical theming - there aren't any. What you are getting is a functional, affordable way to tire out the kids on a day when the weather's turned. The pool itself is clean and well-maintained, run by the local council, and admission is cheap enough that you won't feel you've wasted money if you only stay an hour.

If you're camped at Ashurst Campsite just down the road, or staying at any of the New Forest spots - Ocknell, Longbeech, or Matley Wood - then this becomes genuinely useful. Twenty minutes' drive from most of those sites. Go mid-morning on a weekday if possible; weekends and school holidays get rammed with the local crowd.

For a dedicated swimming holiday, you'd want something with more features. But as a backup plan when forest walks and outdoor play lose their appeal? Dead handy. Ring ahead to check current opening hours and whether you need to book - these things change, and council pools aren't always well-signposted online.