West Reservoir Centre

Fantastic experience: We had a great time on our first visit to the West Res - my wife had her first paddleboard lesson and by the end of it/with the help of one of their in-house instructors was on her feet and paddling away like a natural - we will definitely be coming back for more!!

Fantastic experience: It takes a while, but eventually you can't stop going

Fantastic experience: Beautiful scenery

Positive experience: The facilities are basic while they have some building work done, but as a not very confident swimmer I really appreciated when one of the staff (Ruben?) took time and gave me some advice on how to increase my confidence swimming and make the transition from pool to open water. So if you don’t feel confident, do talk to the staff before you get into the water and they’ll help. Shame they don’t do classes there but it’s probably also due to capacity while the upgrades are happening. It’s ridiculously popular in the summer, be prepared to book you slot a week in advance unless you can go when everyone else is at work.

Negative experience: Ridiculous. £13+ for a 50 min dip in open water, if you haven't brought the right colour cap you have to buy one for £6.75, or wear any headwear of the specified colours. I ended up swimming in a pink woolly hat which actually soaked up water and weighed me down but I was not allowed to remove it. There is only a small concreted area to rest, all the surrounding areas had been closed but entry price remained the same. Honestly not worth the cost and sucked the joy out of open water swimming.

Fantastic experience: Always great atmosphere, great staff, great swim with the seagulls and locals.

Fantastic experience: Apart from all the obviously amazing things about this place, the staff are just wonderful. Hard-working and cheery.

Fantastic experience: Was fully booked and we were awaiting slots and the team came and let us know and sorted us out with everything we needed. Love the energy here clearly really nice community. Glad we could be a part of it.

Negative experience: A little gulag for swimming enthusiasts. You must wear a silly brightly coloured hat! You must put on a rubber bracelet! You must get a plastic inflatable and strap it to your body (not making it up)! There is only “mixed changing” (no separation by gender). You cannot linger and sunbathe. You cannot go to water for the second time (because they took your rubber bracelet)!!! There is barely any seating. So be a good stoic, go in, go out, change with all people watching and be on your way. You HAVE to book in advance through terrible better app (the name of the app is a comic misnomer) and one off swim costs £13.15 in July 20025.

Positive experience: Really lovely spot to swim in London, just be prepared to follow a whole bunch of rules - fine if you're a regular, but it can be a bit overwhelming if it's your first time. If it's your first time I recommend arriving at least 10-15 min before your booked slot cos they 'brief' you on all the rules. You have to wear a pink or orange swimming hat, if you don't have one you can buy one for £3.75. They explain the direction you can swim in and the routes you're allowed to swim in the reservoir. You're not allowed to do backstroke. You have to wear a flotation device attached around your waist, which is helpful for resting mid-swim when you get tired. Once you're in the water you're not really allowed to get out and sunbathe/rest and then get back in, but this is fine as it's easy to rest in the water and not feel the need to get out. All in all it cost £16.90 to swim here with the cost of the swimming cap included which is quite expensive especially considering all the rules you have to follow which make going there for the first time not a very easygoing experience. Hampstead heath ponds are a more relaxing experience for much cheaper if you want more of a 'wild swimming' vibe that feels more like a social spot to hang out with friends, this spot feels more suitable if you live nearby and want to use it for regular exercise.

Fantastic experience: Gorgeous place for an outdoor swim. One way although route with different distances between 50m-400m. All the normal open water swimming rules apply: ie cap must be worn, no swimming on your back or they'll assume you need assistance and kayak over to check on you. Only downside: It's a bit expensive for non-members. The facilities will be nicer once the big upgrade has happened (due to start summer 2025).

Negative experience: Terrible experience! Website for bookings is about as useful as a blind lookout. Was told on arrival I had to buy a swimming cap, then had a patronising staff member shove endless rules down my throat, was told to wear a plastic wrist band then told to take it off and strap more inflated plastic crap to myself, can only swim in a line, cant go on your back. Covered in plastic crap. Ruined all the joy of swimming. DO NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE. Joke of an establishment.

Fantastic experience: London’s best treasure

Fantastic experience: Excellent cafe with friendly staff. A good place to sit and enjoy the reservoir.

Positive experience: Generally a great swim location in a sunny day. Unfortunately they occasionally don't seem to have enough staff to cover safety so close off The bigger loop as happened to me yesterday. Today due to the sheer number of people today there was a queue of 12 to get a tow float (a requirement for entering the water). Only a certain number of people are allowed in the water -which I understand- but either there are not enough safety peeps, or the management are trying to cram in too many people….. ‍♂️. Don’t get me wrong, i love this place and the staff are great (despite what other reviewers say) and cope well with the more than occasional entitled Stokie resident. Also turn up on time! 10 minutes late and you don’t get in. Please don’t take it out on the staff it’s not their fault.

Fantastic experience: This is my happy place Staff are great and the outdoors swimming experience never fails to lift the spirits

Negative experience: Incredibly lovely place with unbelievably petty and rude staff. I arrived 15 mins late due to a bike malfunction and a very long queue. I used to swim in the reservoir all year round. Someone who really enjoyed the little power bestowed on him in life didn’t let me in and I cancelled my membership. It just seemed so incredibly petty to treat someone who used to go there most days like that. It happened a while ago but it still upsets me now.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful place and good for relaxing and run

Fantastic experience: Amazing place with friendly staff

Fantastic experience: Superb location with the friendliest and most helpful staff in the business. As a bonus they are open Christmas, New Year & bank holidays :) There is a cafe and a nice range of birdlife too. You will never regret a swim here whatever the weather. A truly happy place which I cannot recommend enough.

Negative experience: Open water swimming and especially cold water swimming is great for the immune system and brilliant for your health both physically and mentally. One of the best things about open water swimming is that it is free almost everywhere, the sea is free, rivers are free! The ponds in Hampstead are £4.70, the serpentine lido costs a mere £25 for a whole year. The price to swim at West reservoir is currently £12.30 per session, it seems that in Stoke Newington, the benefits of open water swimming are only for rich people. Yes, membership is cheaper but at around £40 per month that’s still expensive and for lots of people, prohibitive. I find it repugnant to pay so much for something that elsewhere is either a lot cheaper or free.

Fantastic experience: Great place. Lovely staff

Negative experience: The epitome of incompetence. There is a glitch in the booking system and they tell me to come do the payment in person. I come in person on a Sunday (with their green light), and after waiting for 45 minutes someone that had to show up in 30 (Lance), they tell me to come back Monday-Friday. Useless, unprofessional, incompetent and rude - not sure how it could be worse. I’d definitely would not trust them as instructors given the blatant unprofessionalism and incompetence.

Fantastic experience: Lovely afternoon out, felt super safe in the res due to the incredible staff and the cafe is great too :)

Fantastic experience: What a hidden gem for watersports in Hackney. I went for paddleboarding with Castle Canoe Club. Sessions are available all year round on Sundays. I'll definitely be back in the winter.

Negative experience: Save your money. Swim somewhere else - Where the staff are nicer! We arrived at 13:18pm for a 13:00pm swim (due to Tube being held at the station to regulate their service) and were denied entry. Staff stated that being 10 minutes late is enough to be denied entry and wouldn’t budge, even as we explained we were late due to reasons out of our control. Spent £25 on 2x tickets and were denied a refund. We were already having a bad day and this made it even worse, so thanks for that guys. Costs nothing to be nice! If you’re thinking of swimming here, go to Hampstead ponds instead - £4.50 entry and staff are incredibly kind and helpful! Same cannot be said for West Reservoir…

Fantastic experience: Absolutely gorgeous place to 'wild swim'. Feels so invigorating - can't believe Manor House is only a few minutes away!

Fantastic experience: Awesome place to swim. I go most mornings through the spring and summer.

Fantastic experience: Brilliant place to swim.

Negative experience: This was my first experience of open water swimming and I wanted to share. Firstly, I am a fitness instructor and professional athlete so I felt confident in my decision to swim here despite not having a lot of experience in the water. I came with my partner who does Ironman triathlons and is an extremely competent swimmer so that I would feel safe during my first time. I was very much enjoying my relaxed swim and, when I came to get tired around 250m, I took a moment to stop swimming and look back at where I’d come from. The lifeguard in a canoe shouted over to me but I couldn’t hear what he said. After a moment he came over to me and said that I was signalling for help which I hadn’t realised. I apologised very profusely as I didn’t realise this was code for help. My partner, who was with me, also apologised to the lifeguard as he believed to signal for help you had to put your hand up. We were told that they had to respond to what I had done so, once again, we apologised and swam on a little further. After only a couple of minutes, I was tired again so paused and (I must say very briefly) I did roll onto my back for one big breath then continued to breast stroke. The lifeguard in his boat was immediately right by my side and gave me quite a fright by coming so close after such a quick moment’s rest. He very aggressively told me he would have to come over every time if I did that again and spoke to me in an extremely condescending manner. I very sternly said I did not need his help but thank you and he was clearly angered by me. The irony is, that there was no issue, but the way he acted and spoke towards me caused me to have an anxiety attack in the water which I then had to deal with in order to safely finish my swim. I understand he was trying to do his job but, as a first timer, I felt so unwelcome, unsafe and it is enough for me to completely put me off trying to train and get better at swimming. My partner was shocked by how the man spoke to me. My advice to anyone in my situation would be to stay away from this centre and go somewhere else instead. Hopefully you will have a better experience elsewhere. Having said this, I sat on the grass, meditated and had a great service in the cafe after my swim.

Positive experience: The reservoir is not exactly the definition of affordable but better than no options. The booking needs to be made online though they fail to mention a list of rules and regulations simply to go swimming and on top of that if you don't attend with a swimming cap in a bright colour you are obliged to buy one from the staff before you're allowed to swim. That aside it is peculiar that they dye the water black but apparently that's to deprive the plant life of sunlight. The water itself is cool on a hot day though make sure you're a decent swimmer as you'll need to stay afloat the whole time you're in. There are personal flotation devices you can swim with which double up as markers for the lifeguards.

Fantastic experience: Simply London’s best swimming spot.

Negative experience: Booking system is archaic and confusing.

Negative experience: Have been coming here a long time. It's now too expensive and staff are rude and unhelpful. There are better outdoor spots to swim in london.

Negative experience: Been a few times but last week after swimming I had a tummy bug, was really fighting something off. Not sure how often they quality check the water? Can’t see any guidance anywhere. Saw another reviewer say the same recently. The cafe is nice.

Fantastic experience: I love the open water swimming at West Reservoir. It's a chance to commune with nature, swim meditatively and improve my mental (and) health. The staff are lovely and Inspire a sense of safety. I go there at least 4x weekly.

Fantastic experience: My experience here was amazing because of my ray of sunshine, Jake Evan’s who was the nicest lifeguard to chat too . 5 stars would recommend this reservoir

Fantastic experience: Lovely staff, simple and informative induction. Tow floats provided. Red/pink/orange swimming caps required (purchasable on site). It was my first time there on a Monday evening and it wasn't too busy but nice seeing people ending their day with a swim. Some people were doing a proper swim session but a few (myself included) had a nice chat and swam with friends. Plenty of space for everyone along the routes. Booking through Better is very easy. Your name is on their system so you don't need to bring up your booking when you arrive, just give your name.

Negative experience: Lovely place but spoilt by some very rude staff at reception.

Fantastic experience: i went with my school it was nice ig.

Negative experience: Pretty poor front of house service. No way of rocking up and paying to swim - you have to book using the app Also not sure how they can charge £12 to swim in a public lake. It’s £5 down the road in clissold leisure centre

Fantastic experience: Great staff. Community cold swimming.

Positive experience: The res is great but the price at £12 is excessive and inaccessible for some people.

Positive experience: We came here for a winter walk. The water looked good but the surrounding area is pretty dreary and uninteresting. There are two reservoirs you can walk round with a road intersecting them. The main reservoir is mildly better but neither is much to write home about. I wouldn’t return unless I had signed up to partake in a specific water sport activity on the reservoir. As a walking location is just a bit meh.

Fantastic experience: Glorious

Fantastic experience: Great service! And the view is just amazing

Negative experience: As others have said sadly too expensive, for a limited swim time in summer and what would obviously be just a short dip in winter. Isn't so good for long distance training anymore with the shorter courses. And I find the new barrier dividing the reservoir into 2 for sailing and swimming unpleasant, it spoils the view while swimming and it's covered in sea gulls and their droppings which seems unsanitary as it's possible to contract diseases from the droppings. That they haven't reopened the changing rooms, indoor showers and lockers that we used to be able to use pre covid is very strange.

Negative experience: £12 for a swim and have to use the “better” app. I don’t get how an indoor swimming pool round the corner can cost £6 and an outdoor reservoir with far fewer facilities can justify being double the price. Money grabbing

Fantastic experience: Love it as the reservoir is big and deep, water quality is good. Staff are nice , there are two showers as well. Good cafe. I will be regular in the future although it is not very close to where I live. Love open water

Positive experience: Those want to hire space for weddings and events is beautiful place with breeze

Fantastic experience: This is one of my favourite places in north London. I can never get enough of swimming here - it’s lovely. The views while swimming are gorgeous. It’s a bit pricey though and you need to book ahead - but well worth it. Parking is very easy - there’s always plenty of space. And there’s a great little cafe for after your swim. For kids there’s also the watersports club which is very popular and well worth it

Fantastic experience: I love this place. Great place for an early morning swim. I’ve yet to try it in the winter, but I will. It’s the perfect place to swim a good distance. The water is clean and the staff are friendly. You have to book a bit in advance on peak times, but the app Is easy to use. £11 is steep, but the membership is a bargain if you swim often enough.

Negative experience: Watersports only for kids. Hard to get to the information thru their awful app.

Positive experience: It’s a nice place for open water swimming. But not worth the £11 No indoor showers, no place to change, and a bit of a mess signing in and then even having to buy a cap for swimming It’s OK to experience once. But they should really do something to make the changing rooms nice.

Positive experience: An amazing place, a little piece of paradise. However, it doesn't come cheap. £11 a swim, £3 charge if you have to cancel within 4 hours. In the last few years the membership has just gone up and up making it unfortunately unaffordable for a lot of people.

Fantastic experience: Lovely open water swimming spot, staff are friendly, explain safety and instructions well and properly lifeguarded

Positive experience: Love this place- been swimming here for over ten years.

Fantastic experience: Amazing location - my friends hosted their wedding here, only downside is the events manager who is unhelpful and only cares about money.

Fantastic experience: Great Sunday out doing an induction into kayaking & paddleboarding. It was busy, but very good fun, everyone was so helpful & kind. Top !!!

Fantastic experience: I made my first visit to West Reservoir Centre this morning for an open water swim ‍♂️. I was so impressed. All the staff were so helpful and friendly. I enjoyed so much I'm coming back tomorrow (Saturday)

Negative experience: Nice enough place but £11 for a swim, and you can’t pay on entry (you have to book through the terrible Better app) is a bit steep. Heath ponds are nicer and only £4. Way too many rules - you have to wear their colour swim caps (no black swim caps allowed for some reason) and they make you swim with a float. They even make you get in and out of the water in one place. All feels a bit restrictive. Fine but about as far from a wild swim as you can get. Cafe is great, will be back for that. If visiting London and want an outdoor swim, skip this place and go straight to the Heath ponds.

Negative experience: An avid year-round outdoor swimmer I was tempted to give this a try. But their kafkaesque website is unreal. If you finally make it there you are faced with an over-regulated, overpriced place where they ruin the whole experience of swimming which should be liberating and joyful by forcing you into ridiculous garments and ordering you around like a dog when all you'd like to do it enjoy some water in peace. Another disappointing money making over-regulated affair. The council should do better.

Fantastic experience: Great experience. Great life guards and a great atmosphere, whether you're a pootler or training for a triathlon

Fantastic experience: So fun, amazing place, lends water shoes, raincoats and life jackets!!!

Fantastic experience: Visited for a charity dragon boat race and had an amazing day. Thoroughly recommend.

Negative experience: Can’t find any way to book or any info on price on their website. Timetable slots all day “unavailable” for the foreseeable future. Bizarre enough for public open water swimming to require booking in advance or charge let alone not make it easy to do so.

Fantastic experience: We booked West Reservoir Centre for our wedding reception in March 2023. The most stunning venue, perfect for bigger London weddings with wow factor high ceilings, gorgeous light and use of the terrace too. Our guests absolutely loved it. The team were super helpful in the run up too.

Fantastic experience: First time back this year swimming in the reservoir. Was cold but beautiful at 10°.

Fantastic experience: Love this place- been swimming here for over ten years. Feel so privileged to have this patch of wildlife and wild swimming on my doorstep, and I’m glad it reached a wider audience over lockdown. The negative reviews about there being too many rules is because people turn up expecting a beach whereas it’s an open-water sports facility, and that’s how they are (always) run, for safety reasons. Apparently there are some changes afoot, to make it more accessible, which I hope don’t alter it too much.

Fantastic experience: My local swimming spot and I love it. All year round, hot and cold! I always feel super safe, especially in the winter.

Positive experience: Great veiew ..good disabled toliets.. Full breakfast ok....

Fantastic experience: Came across this brilliant watering hole in the Hackney area whilst on a property photoshoot. There's swimming and sail boating too! I may be a little for a dip in the water as summer 2022 has just ended, but I'll be sure to visit this place next summer! Even if I have to wear their required swim caps!

Fantastic experience: Great place for open swimming in north Hackney. Friendly staff and a nice community feel. The one-off fee is pricey at £11 but there are good membership deals.

Fantastic experience: I Like Finsbury Park

Fantastic experience: This place is such a sanctuary. The scenery is stunning and you can swim all year round whilst enjoying the wildlife. I love everything about coming swimming here, it’s a really special place. You can swim a 200m, 300m and 400m course as well as a short warm up lane. There are toilets, heated indoor changing facilities as well as a sunny outdoor changing area (with cold water shower) and a licensed café with outdoor seating serving lunches, snacks, hot and cold drinks. The staff are great and the instagram account posts the water temp and other useful daily info so it’s worth a follow.

Fantastic experience: This is a hidden gem in London for swimmers! Not sure if I would venture swimming here in winter, regardless proper gear, but the clean, fresh, non chlorinated water is much appreciated! Staff as friendly as you can get …I only resented a proper changing room with showers so be prepared to get changed/ unchanged with a big towel or any equivalent changing outfit.

Fantastic experience: Mt experience was great at West Reservoir Centre

Fantastic experience: Amazing experience overall, swim staff were super approachable and informative if you’re ever in doubt of anything. And the on-site cafe was amazing - literally came to Google to say this: reasonably priced sustenance for famished swimmers (me), and the lady that works at the cafe was THE BEST god bless her - makes sure she gets your order right, super helpful and friendly - do have a chat with her while you’re refueling for the next go!

Fantastic experience: Amazing wedding venue. The main space is beautiful and you can use the terrace by the reservoir. We used the guy who runs the café to run the bar. All the staff were so helpful and friendly. Highly recommended!

Fantastic experience: Came yesterday and the people working were v friendly and helpful. Wonderful swim - felt v safe. One thing!! Please put hooks on the backs of ladies toilet doors! It’s a must when you have a bag!

Fantastic experience: I love West reservoir and an enjoyable swim in any temperature here. You can check water temp from their twitter account if you are not sure.

Fantastic experience: Great and safe place to do open water swimming in North East London. Free if you’ve got a UK wide Better membership. Remember to book your slot early as these are going fast!

Negative experience: What a waste of public outdoor space! It's usually run under capacity and possibly on a low budget even on summer months. Should be privatized. Could easily be turned into a lush and fun space but you can't eat, drink, sunbathe, simply chill and enjoy yourself here. You have to watch the clock, chop chop, swim and get out. God forbid if the public of London could relax more than an hour where there is a piece of water! Find and read books about joyful living in urban spaces ASAP. And don't rob people for it once you do.

Negative experience: Heavily regimented council outdoor space. Rather a boot camp or worse.

Positive experience: I live swimming here, but it is getting increasingly difficult to book slots - there aren't enough in the mornings or evenings. So at the moment my membership feels a little redundant...

Fantastic experience: I feel so lucky to have this place on my doorstep!! I am a winter swimmer, and the swimming here is fantastic. All the staff are lovely. Love the West Reservoir.

Fantastic experience: It is the best, go there every summer.

Fantastic experience: My son has been sailing at this place for a number of years and he enjoys it a lot. There are several shifts on Saturday and that gives flexibility to chose mornings or afternoons. In the past there were some odd instructors but they moved on, you need to know how to deal with children and not make a fuss out of small things.

Fantastic experience: Love West Reservoir! I love swimming here all year round, for an invigorating cold water dip in the winter and the gorgeous blue skies and luscious swims in the summer. It's so worth being a Better Gym member if you're a keen swimmer. I'm addicted in the best possible way.

Fantastic experience: Came here for a swim this morning, and absolutely loved it. Can't believe it's taken me so long to come here! I'm a keen swimmer, but it was my first time here so the staff gave me a really handy briefing on where everything is, course lengths etc. Really useful having the different length laps all marked out. I found all the different distances and amount of space meant it never felt busy or chaotic in there, like some lidos can. Will definitely be coming back, especially when I have time to chill in the café afterwards

Fantastic experience: I love this reservoir. It's run by Better. Staff are super professional and lovely so gt opportunity to learn all sorts. Lots of wildlife on the lake and the water seems v clean. In central London!

Fantastic experience: Love this place. Super friendly staff. Swam all through lockdown.

Fantastic experience: I had previously walked past the water tower, within seeing the reservoir, desperate for the loo, and a cup of tea, I found my way to the cafe, which faces the lake Plenty of people enjoying various water sports activities, despite the cold weather. A decent cup of tea, clean toilets, and plenty of birds, around. Parakeets, wagtails, ducks, etc. Only disappointment for me, being a keen angler, was that no fishing is allowed!

Positive experience: Fantastic place to swim but a bit expensive at £10 plus a cap/hat unless you have a red one. They have two options, £3 or £6. Lovely cafe and lovely people though.

Positive experience: Nice swim location

Fantastic experience: Great place to swim on your own or with friends always someone to have a chat with friendly staff love swimming here nice cafe to get coffee in after swim

Fantastic experience: What a beautiful place to be able to swim! Sun shining its a little bit of heaven.. Very peaceful really helpful staff lovely cafe to get something to eat and drink. But the swim is the star so tranquil, somewhere I know want to go everyday.

Fantastic experience: Super swim spot

Fantastic experience: My favourite place!❤

Fantastic experience: Amazing love it