Royal Pump Rooms

Now that I live (temporarily) in Leamington, it was definitely worth a look at the Royal Pump Rooms. The Pump Rooms use to house the water therapy bathing facilities for people. But now that the bathing facilities are gone, the Warwick District Council converted it into a different areas: an Art Gallery and Museum, Library, Visitor Centre, Café and Assembly rooms. For simplicity sake, I will talk about each area separately.
**Art Gallery and Museum**
Admission is free. The Art Gallery is located on one level and the Museum is on two levels. I didn’t expect too much from the Museum but I did like reading about the history of Leamington and town’s birth. The Leamington artifacts, and the old pump rooms paraphernalia is worth a look. Lots of hands on activities for children, too.
**Library**
The library is quaint and holds quite the book selection. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable, and I was able to get a library card quickly without issue. Please be aware that you do have to show proof of address before getting a library card. I also like that their electronic checkout machines! Wow, super easy to use! BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Radio are also located inside, right near the entrance. They make it easy to get books on loan from other libraries on line, or asking the librarians.
**Visitor Centre**
Pretty much as its name implies there are loads of pamphlets of the surrounding areas, along with some cute gifts. I grabbed some «To Do» booklets about Cambridge, Stratford-​Upon-​Avon, and the Cotswold’s from here. I also seriously considering buying a few British things to send back to the family in California.
**Café and Assembly Rooms**
The Café is open everyday, but with shorter hours on Sunday. It’s directly across the Visitor Centre and Library you can’t miss it. I’ve tried their organic green tea and Mediterranean pannini which is quite nice, all for under £8. I wasn’t too impressed with their coffee, but I’m a bit of a coffee snob. There is also a menu board with their specials and typical British cuisine like Yorkshire pudding and cakes.
The large assembly room holds local events, one that we got to visit was an amazing wine tasting!
Aside from food in the café, everything is free to explore. Check it out!

This café is situated in Leamington Spa Pump Rooms. It is next to the tourist center, art gallery and library. The café is small but has a nice atmosphere to it and in the summer you can sit out overlooking the park in the sunshine. The food available comes from a buffet style counter with cakes, chocolates teas and coffee available through the day. Over lunchtime you can also order light lunches such as jacket potatoes and lasagna. If you are treating yourself there are real cream ice creams and organic crisps too.

Originally, I thought that the Royal Pump Rooms probably concentrated on the spa that gives Leamington its name, but it seems I was mistaken. This is, in fact, an art gallery, tourist information centre, café and library. I haven’t been in the art gallery (though it is free and they do a guided talk on a Friday), but the library is very good. It is open long hours, including Sundays, and the staff are very helpful and friendly. The selection of books is good, and they can get other titles from other libraries if you can’t find what you are looking for. They also have a large number of computers that you can use to access the internet. Once a month they run a ‘bounce and rhyme’ session for babies and toddlers, which is very successful and enjoyable.