A now lost Greater Manchester swimming baths provided children with unforgettable childhood memories.
Wigan International Pool opened in 1966, two years after building work first began. Work on the pool had to be stopped for several months after an old mine shaft was discovered on the site of the old Pavilion Cinema, which had been demolished to make way for the pool.
Rumours surfaced soon after it opened that an error in measuring out the pool meant it was built several inches too short to allow Olympic swimming competitions, but this was never officially confirmed. This didn't stop the pool being a popular venue for competitions and swimming meets for the 40-years of its life.
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The eight lane, 50-metre pool was surrounded by large windows and rows of seating for spectators to enjoy the action. There were also high diving boards, two smaller pools and a steam room known as the Russian Baths.
Up until the 1990s, Wigan International Pool was still the only 50-metre course in the North West of England - and this made it the go to place for competitive swimmers for many years. Another feature people loved was an upstairs cafeteria that overlooked the pool itself.
Sadly, after 40-years serving the community the pool closed in 2008 and was demolished a year later, to be replaced by the Wigan Life Centre. Despite now being consigned to history, many people still fondly remember the pool from their schooldays as it was the place many children learned to swim.
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Recently, photos of the pool have been shared to a number of Wigan history groups on Facebook. There, people have taken to the comments to share their memories.
One woman vividly remembered: "Pie and banana milkshake upstairs in the café, with wet hair. Sitting and watching the swimmers from the balcony."
Adding: "I used to think the verruca bath - or whatever it was - had magical properties that dried you off quicker as you went through it.
"The run from the pool to the lockers - freezing cold, teeth chattering - before you could grab your towel to put around you."
Another person commented: "Spent many happy times there growing up," while another said: "Spent soo many hours of my life there."
Another long post said: "I wonder how many of us [remember] carrying our rolled up towels in a plastic bag. Looking through those large windows, with the ankle breaker pebbles and warm air mixed with the baths' smell blowing at us.
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"All done before we ran down to the main doors with its wonderfully smooth, bubble shaped patterned flooring, that I’m sure most of us jumped from one to the other to get to the changing rooms. It was all just part and parcel of going to the baths on a Saturday morning. Such happy memories for so many of us."
Many of the memories that people shared were about the smells they associated with the lost baths.
One person said: "I can still smell the chlorine and the powdered soup in the vending machine!"
Another posted: "The cold water and bleach when they hosed everything down when people [were] still in the pool. [I can] still smell it now."
Another person remembered: "Sunday morning dip and a piece of toast from the café upstairs waiting for the first bus at 10.30 am. Feels like yesterday."
Another post remembered Wigan International Pool as "the best pool around at the time." While another person put it simply: "Kids today will never know the joy. brilliant memories."
Do you remember Wigan International Pool? If so, let us know in the comments below.
