Spring Lakes Water Sports and Leisure Centre Wild Swimming

Spring Lakes is a spring-fed watersports centre on Pasture Lane, Long Eaton, NG10 2FZ, between Nottingham and Derby. Open-water swimming with a lifeguard. Changing rooms, toilets, showers. Waters Edge café. You go because you can book a £7 dip, take a dog in a lifejacket, and swim Lake 2 in the warm months on a site that also sells wakeboarding and an aqua park. You also go knowing a £5 membership card is compulsory on visit one, a bright hat and a tow float are not optional, and the monthly hours grid is the timetable, not a weekday promise.

Getting in

Book on Roller. They advise booking in advance; the FAQ is the check-in speed as much as the space. Waiver before the first swim — under-18s signed by a parent. First visit: buy the membership card, £5, with the swim or as a replacement. Hand the card in before you get in. Check in and out at reception so they know you are safe. Tell them at check-in if you will be in longer than an hour.

Swim £7. Restrictions below 10°C — they do not spell the restriction on the swim page; ask. Annual pass £320 for 365 days. Premium £375: event swims except Boxing Day and New Year’s Day (food not included), 10% off full-price Waters Edge except alcohol, 10% off retail over £50, main-site parking. Card on you every time.

Swimmers 10+. Bright coloured hat and a tow buoy, every swim. They sell hats at £10 and buoys at £16; hire a buoy for £4. Wetsuits hire £6 adults, £5 kids, not mandatory — skins are common. Lockers: bring a padlock, or buy one at reception (£3.50 on the swim page, £3 on the FAQ). Changing rooms male, female and family. Showers on site; they close the showers in winter for safety. Café heaters in the cold months.

Dogs: £2.50, must wear a lifejacket you have brought — they do not hire them. Free parking, 200-plus spaces plus overflow, disabled bays. what3words: ending.renew.poster. Reception 08:00–18:00, 0115 972 7788. 5mph on site. No lake entry unless you have booked an activity.

The swim

Spring-fed, they call it clear. Lake 2 in the warmer months. They aim to run all year at more flexible times; a lifeguard is always on while you swim. Daily temperature sits on the Spring Lakes Open Water Swimmers Facebook page, not the website. General water-activity FAQ asks for 50m unaided — that is the site rule for activities; the swim page’s bar is 10, hat, float, card.

From May 2026 many swimming events became Swim & Paddle on Lake 2: Pizza Swim & Paddle 1 May, Summer Solstice 20 June, own kit or hire. Those are events, not the default loop. Wake, kayak, aqua park and the beach are other tickets. Opening-times page publishes monthly 2026 grids (June uploaded as a poster). Check the month you are in, then Roller.

Worth knowing

It is a leisure centre with a swim product, not a quiet estate pond. If you want a NOWCA sailing-club lake with a gate code, Hoveringham. If you want a city-park sauna compound, Colwick. If you want Asfordby holiday-park loops, Frisby. This is the Long Eaton spring-fed hour: card in, hat on, float on, dog in a jacket if that is the point.