Swimming Pools; I have had little luck with these and they fit into the same category as Victorian Cinemas. I am always too late, or there's a ridiculous climb that I can't manage.
During 2022, I managed a solitary Cinema in Liverpool but the number I have failed on is reaching colossal levels. I had little expectations standing outside ‘Levenshulme Pools’. It had been entered recently, by some climbing crew, and I am sadly not a member.
The place stunk of age and post Edwardian style even from a distance. It also looked thoroughly sealed, but this false mirage would not deter us.
Built in 1921 and closed in 2016, I was amused to read this article showing people lying on the street in protest of the inevitable closure.
It’s not going to make any bloody difference, you freaks!
Source
...'not much has changed apart from the the boarding on today's Levenshulme Pools'...
This side of the building appeared well sealed, with ageing 'tin sheeting' to be seen everywhere.
The other side did have some handy wheel bins to climb on to navigate that wall, but as they were already on wheels we thought it unwise to try.
A wall stood in our way, and I distinctly remember one of us getting a minor injury while trying to conquer it. The back yielded a long narrow outdoor alley with what looked like a wooden floor.
Why is there a wooden floor in an outdoor area? It is going to rot and rot it has. This climbing apparatus piqued our interest and @anidiotexplores wasted no time in vaulting up.
"Yes, we can get in", came the muffled notification from above… "…but it’s a dodgy climb”, he added.
I was a little slower but as there were handholds it didn’t pose too much of an issue, and then I saw the dodginess in all its glory. This was a descent into madness; would it even take my weight before collapsing inwards and decapitate me?
@anidiotexplores was already down there so I had little choice. He did tell me to go for the corner where other climbing implements had been placed.
The decent was tentative, I am no longer sixteen years old and every move was calculated with my eardrums listening to every creak, squeak and groan of the abused woodwork I was attempting to circumvent.
It was not as bad as it looked and I breathed a sigh of relief when down, only to look up and know I had to do this all again unless we found an alternative exit point.
Within the bowels of the old swimming pool, I breathed in the familiar stench of decay and rot. It was familiar and recognisable.
After that climb I was in no mood for a swim, so this sign was wasted on the likes of me.
Climbing through rotting roofs is kind of a new form of exercise for me, but as there were no nearby doctors I waived my rights to medical advice. That is what the sign is intended for… right?
While the door on the far left may appear locked, there are always alternative ways through it.
Well yes, I was hardly going down there for a swim. Note the cubicles framing the pool. They used to make them like this deliberately so perverts could peek over the top and ogle at the girls in the adjoining cubicle.
The sauna or it used to be one.
Not so hot in there now.
Was this another way out, another skyward escape route? It looked tougher than our original course, not an option.
It's not a naked mixed sauna, how disappointing.
These types of pools with an increasing depth level, a shallow and deep end appear to be very much out of fashion. Too dangerous, the little kids could drown? Well... only if they go where they are not supposed to.
What could be upstairs, a separate pool for homosexual three-legged dogs? We were about to find out.
It was full of silver cladding, and little else. You couldn’t even mistake it for a grow.
This place has fallen into quick disrepair. Not hard to navigate, but it's only been empty for seven years (at the time of visiting).
So we were not the first ones in here, some wankers beat us to it.
Serco seems to get their fingers in all kinds of pies.
It doesn’t matter anymore, there’s nothing at all of interest or value in the confidential office.
Unfortunately, there is no exit for us. We would likely be leaving the same way this dude was, the one sitting on the edge of the board.
The most interesting room in the entire building and it’s bolted tight. What’s in there? Likely the skeletal remains of the last orgy group who entered for some serious debauchery.
Is there any point in smashing those small windows in the doors, I don't get it.
I can guarantee there’s been some shagging going on in those cubicles throughout the decades, close to the pool or not.
Deep ends were great, you could dive. Does anyone know how to anymore?
There might have been more to 'Levenshulme Pools' but I could not find any trace of weights or a gym.
It’s not a tilted photograph; the rusted cabinet was resting at an odd angle. Not a single old time sheet to be seen.
This is where it happens, the office meeting area with the finest of seats and no privacy whatsoever.
Some doors are simply not meant to be attached to walls. I was sensing a little deja-vu?
It was time to leave and this was our provided climbing aid. It does look suspiciously like the one on the outer wall. Those BOGOFF sales do help the explorer on a budget.
@anidiotexplores was already on the roof taunting me with screwed-up faces. Again, the climb was not such a big deal; the quavering beams were.
It’s not a particularly great landing spot. Too close to the wall and you fall down the pit, jump too far and you scrape the wall. It had to be just right.
Hopefully not all of the outside alley floor was made of rotting wood.
‘Levenshulme Pools’ was quite the adventure. A dangerous climb followed by a shoddy interior. What else would you want?
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