Puddle Ducks at Everlast Fitness Imperial Park
Puddle Ducks runs its full 0 to 10 pathway at Everlast Fitness in Hartcliffe, from parent and baby classes through eight levels of Swim Academy, in a warm 1.2 metre pool.
Who it suits
South Bristol families who want one pool to cover baby classes right through to a confident 10 year old swimmer, and who are happy to take a turn poolside once their child moves into Swim Academy.
Why it stands out
- The pool runs at an average of 30 degrees and stays 1.2 metres deep, so younger children can stand throughout
- Baby and Pre-school classes run with no spectators at all because of limited poolside space; only the swimming parent is there
- Swim Academy classes need two parent spotters each week, poolside, rotated by the teacher rather than fixed to one family
- Payments are four lesson fees taken in advance each month rather than smoothed evenly across the year
- Free on-site parking at Imperial Park, off Hartcliffe Way
Our verdict
Twenty pounds a lesson is the standard Puddle Ducks rate, and what it buys is one pool and one curriculum from six months to ten years old. Do not book if you want to watch every week from the side: the youngest classes bar spectators outright, and the older ones let in only two parents on the poolside rota at a time. Skip it too if you are hoping for adult lessons, since this venue teaches children only. Check the specific level's booking page before you commit, because some slots already show a wait list while others are open.
What it is
Puddle Ducks teaches its full children’s pathway at Everlast Fitness in Imperial Park, Hartcliffe, starting with parent and baby classes for six month olds and running through eight numbered Swim Academy stages up to age ten. The teaching pool holds steady at around 30 degrees and stays a shallow 1.2 metres throughout, which matters more for the youngest end of that range than the oldest. There is no adult programme at this venue. Once a child reaches ten, or finishes Stage 8, they move on elsewhere.
Who should book
This suits South Bristol parents who want to stay at one pool for years rather than switching providers as their child grows. The early classes need a parent in the water, and Puddle Ducks are blunt about why: poolside space is tight, so nobody else gets to watch. That changes once a child reaches Swim Academy, where two parents a week sit poolside as spotters while everyone else waits outside the hall. Anyone who wants to see every lesson themselves should know about that rota before signing up.
What stands out
The billing is disclosed properly, which is not always true of pool-based swim schools. You pay four lesson fees in advance each month rather than a smoothed annual figure, so the amount taken can shift slightly with how the calendar falls. Free parking at Imperial Park removes one of the usual hassles of an early evening lesson. The one thing Puddle Ducks does not spell out anywhere on the venue page is class size, so ask before you book if a small group matters to you.
The verdict
At £20 a lesson this sits at the standard Puddle Ducks rate rather than a premium one, and the trade being made is convenience for access. A parent gets in the pool for the baby stages and takes a poolside shift later on, but nobody just turns up to watch from a bench. That works if you are the one swimming with your child, less well if it is grandparents or a second parent hoping to see progress firsthand. Families after adult lessons should also look elsewhere, since this venue’s programme stops at age ten.
More Puddle Ducks venues
All Puddle Ducks venuesPuddle Ducks runs its 0 to 4 baby and pre-school classes on Saturday mornings only at the Everlast gym pool on Coldhams Lane.
Puddle Ducks has sole use of the Novotel Cambridge North pool on weekday mornings for its 0 to 4 baby and pre-school classes.
Puddle Ducks teaches its full birth to 10 programme in the Novotel Cardiff Centre's hotel pool at Atlantic Wharf, with a parent in the water until age 4.