Tudor Grange Leisure Centre

Not used this centre in ages, when it first opened it did have a great pool for lane swimming as there were always lanes in, but during my college years the lanes were just filled up with swim clubs and swimming lessons, I assume its fair usage but i once went on a tuesday night and there was one lane for public swimming which was full. and 5 other lanes were for other things.
Also the lifeguards just had no control over the lanes had kids swimming across them and all sorts and they did nothing about it even though it annoyed me but never complained about it. Also a stupid thing on the timetable they had on Wednesday was a 15 minute gap between general swim and adults, they cleared the pool for like 10 minutes even if you was an adult lol. Some stupid rule the management come up with a lifeguard told me, which I can actually agree with there.
One advantage it does have a big gym but if you like the gym its good if you just use it for just that. The opening times especially evenings aren’t brilliant due to swim clubs using it, which i guess is hard as there are only 2 public pools in Solihull. But with Fox Hollies and Cocks Moors in the process of getting huge gyms they need to pull their socks up. They are also apparently charging direct debit customers for functional classes on top of their membership… why???
I got involved in studio classes, I noticed the spin classes and other classes got full up very quickly, so if you like studio classes, this isn’t the site for you, since the studios are really small I think the capacity is around 30 so can’t accommodate everyone. So i ended up leaving and signing up to Virgin Active at the time… if your into classes Fox Hollies and Cocks Moors and Stechford is probably the best option. There are regular complaints about them not putting enough classes on and nothing is resolved due to no room for more bikes or extensions on studios, which something Parkwood Leisure should of took into account when building the site.
I probably use this site for the odd swim on a bank holiday. That’s about it.

If you’re looking for somewhere to burn some calories or even have a relaxing swim, I definitely recommend here. The gym has a range of different machines you can use to excersize on, you can get membership here and it’s not even too expensive! For a child to swim it’s only about £3 so you can bring your kids, on most occasions it has diving boards, a big and a small one. And sometimes an inflatable castle in the water! Learners can get lessons here too. :) !

What a sad place this has become. My first visit since the council/​private lease rebuild. gone are the diving boards, well there is a small one which you can’t use as the diving pool is being used for something else and is too shallow, gone are the slides in fact gone is any sense of fun here replaced by stuffy, boring nothingness. The pool is so small and even then most of it is partitioned off into lanes for ‘length monsters’.
The poor swimming facilities aside the changing rooms were worse. If you could find a locker which didn’t have the door broken the chances are that the wriststrap with the key was. The locks on the cubicles were little better. But worst of all was the sense of ‘grubbiness’ everywhere.
Although this is a comparatively new facility it looks much older and is in desperate need of a cash injection and make over. That said with such a small pool it is doubtful it can attain the standards of other pools in the borough.
A pale imitation of a once great facility now sadly left to wither away.

Just been for a swim at Tudor Grange and been reminded how much I like the swimming pool environment there. It makes such a difference to a pool when there are big windows letting natural light into the building. The wooden rafters in the ceiling also give this place a quality feel, far better than the usual metal and concrete used in many modern buildings. I know some reviewers mourn the loss of the water slide, but I rather like the concenration on swimming. There’s also a sense of space with all three pools (diving and child’s pool adjacent to main pool) sharing the same area.
On a practical level it is much better for families when both males and females share the same changing area — with ample cubicle space. And the sofas in the reception area are just incredibly soft.

I have been a member on and off here over the years… purely as your not tied down to an annual membership and only need 1 month written notice to terminate your membership. This leisure centre is fairly decent with a good sized gym boasting a large number of treadmills, cross trainers, bikes, rowing machines and other cadio machines. Large weight lifting section. The gym layout is very organised and staff are friendly… they even changed the music CD for me. Flat screens showing sport and other tv programmes. Personal trainers are usually doing sessions with member during peak time on weekdays (4pm to 7pm). Downstairs the pool is adequate sized with 2 lifeguards on all the time. There is diving board as well as a mother/​toddler swimming section. The dance studio is downstairs which is where all the fitness classes are held. The race track outside is available for running laps and circuit training. There is a sports hall for badminton and five aside football and tennis. There is a café that serves hot/​cold food, snacks and smoothies. The reception is quite large. The spa area is ok. The Sauna/​Steam are always hot, however hygiene is an issue… I have seen people scrape the dead skin off their feet in there.yuck. The jacquizzi is just as bad… I have seen bits in there and they use strong chemicals that make your eyes water. This is the only letdown — Hygiene. The rest of the leisure centre is very good. I have seen people walk in and go upstairs and use the gym/​spa facility for free as the receptionists are not very vigilant. If staff were more on the ball and better hygiene in the spa area I would have give 5 stars. Still, the leisure centre overall is more than adequate. I will be joining again for a few months as it is nice and local to Solihull town centre and prices are decent — £34 off peak per month, £38 peak membership, £60 for two people (couples, friends, siblings etc) which works out at £30 each peak membership. If you work for the council or Government you receive discounted membership and if you join in Jan there is no joining fee. Parking is free for 3 hours — you must display your ticket from the meter in the car park.

Why has everything changed!!!
I came to the newly refurbished Solihull swimming baths with a smile on my face at the memories I had their as a child being forced to swim at the deep end when I didn’t want to. I also used to enjoy the water slides, yet never worked up the muster to jump off the top board.
I was swimming in the new ‘Olympic’ style pool and all I could hear was the incessant drone of a lifeguard’s whistle.
It was then that I got the shock of my life.
The lifeguard was someone that I knew around the age of fifteen, the last time I saw him he had just started working here after failing all of his exams. I decided to go over and say hello and the guy pretends he barely recognised me. I guess he was embarrassed for some unexplained reason. His name is Dave I think. Last thing I heard of him was that his mom paid for him to go to drama school. He must have been a pretty bad actor to end up here, still commanding small children with his Acme whistle.
I wouldn’t bother coming here. I’ve heard terrible things about the gym and they always change the lanes of the pool for other activities. I felt a bit pushed about by my old amigo with the whistle, so I decided to leave and never return to these baths for the sake of my own sanity.

I love swimming. I’ve recently picked up on the vibe that it’s not very cool to say you like swimming in a pool but I love it. I like to find a pool where I can just focus on lap after lap, it’s quite meditative for me a bit like running for others. So I really like this pool and currently it is my favourite in the area.
They are super modern here in Solihull and have done away with changing rooms. Instead they have a communal changing village. This isn’t as fancy as it seems but it does the job. Be prepared to take off your shoes before heading into this area as they have a no outdoor footwear policy.
You do need to time your visit just right as sometimes they close the pool at what seems like random times, all the details are on the website though. And yes the parking is a bit unique, it is free but grab a ticket to display.

I’d come here for the pool. Well, for the slides. Those famous, (locally, anyway), colourful big tube slides that wend their way in and out of the building. You can imagine my surprise when I arrived to see that the whole building was completely different. Apparently in 2008 they demolished the old style pool with its slides and diving boards and replaced it with the current ones.
I remembered the fun and exuberance of swimmers at the former Tudor Grange on Saturday mornings, jumping off the diving boards and running to queue up for the slides, but the pool is now the ultimate sterile swimming environment, hardly a place where fun is encouraged to happen.
There’s a stuffy emphasis on swimming lessons, (why don’t parents just go swimming with their kids, rather than paying someone to teach them, then watching from the side-​lines), and swimming for sport. In the lanes, unsmiling, bored, length-​counters go through their paces.
You can’t work out at what time of day to go to swim either as an adult or as a family. There are sometimes up to three activities going on in the pool at any one time, and the lanes change in layout either lengthways or crossways around every 90 minutes or so to accommodate the aforementioned lessons or a water polo class (‘class’, not ‘session’), or just any water-​based activity that has some strict and concrete rules to them. You are alerted to ‘the changing of the ropes’ by a whistling lifeguard who will then shepherd you to the appropriate section that you are allowed to now swim in.
I swim in a snorkel mask out of habit, even when I’m in an indoor pool. While I’ll admit it is unusual I don’t see why they have a ban on them here. The lifeguards can’t give a reason, they just quote the cover-​all phrase ‘Its policy’.
If you want to be the next Micheal Phelps, then this is maybe the place for you. As a casual swimmer though, you’d be hard-​pushed to find a more frustrating place for aqua fun.

I did swimming and running at the Tudor Grange. The swimming area is quite good. It could be a little cleaner. The 25m pool is good and the separation for tarining, fast, slower and leisure very efficiant. The running track is ok, but the age is visible. The price of 3,5GBP for a day ticket is to high.

This has to be the worst gym I have ever been to!
The customer service is shocking!!! The 2 reception desk ladies are clueless, with one of them more interested in doing her nails then noticing there are customers waiting to be served. The gym instructor (i think his name was Dan?) is just a waste of time, and very rude, I complained to his manager who just wasn’t bothered.
The parking is ridiculous with its rules and policy.
Avoid this gym, there are plenty of good gyms in Solihull.

Well what can i say, if you fancy a gym that talks the talk but no way near walks the walk then this is the gym for you. With a gym section full of broken machines, sauna the size of a small cuboard and changing rooms and lockers in need of repair this is not your first choice. There are some nice staff and the place is kept clean just make sure you ask all the questions you should before you get shown around by bad sales people (person).

A very large park which is the home to a large pond with geese and ducks to venture out and feed throughout the year. These geese were responsible for my fear of them for years as one nipped me when I was a child just standing around with a piece of bread in my hand rather than throwing it out to them! It is just a short walk from Solihull centre and next to Tudor Grange sports centre and golf course. They have a good sized playground for children to enjoy. There is a large car park opposite. The park is the venue for the summer carnival in june/​july each year. A great park which is the same size as I remember it as a child