Which sounds like a bit of a weird boast when that grand total is two, but then this is London, where space to install humungous snaking waterslides comes at a massive premium. And anyway, it’s still double the number of flumes of any other London leisure pool (Bromley Pavilion recently had its pair of waterslides dismantled due to wear and tear, and Archway, Leyton Lagoon and Britannia all have one each, in various states of disrepair).

Speaking of Britannia – if you’ve been then the recently opened (January 2026) Woolwich Waves will look very familiar. The two centres were built by the same contractor, five years apart, and share many of the same features, from the brightly coloured ‘splash zone’ for younger kids and unisex ‘changing village’ to the virtually identical soft play and even the buildings’ architectural styles. Woolwich, however, is more than 50% larger, allowing for twice as much flume – and in our opinion a superior Family Fun Swim experience.

Family Fun Swims at Woolwich Waves last 90 minutes to Britannia’s 60. To be fair, the price is adjusted to match, but for the faff of getting the kids to the pool, dicking around with changing rooms and lockers and showering them afterwards, I would gladly pay the extra for another half hour in the pool. My two were absolutely knackered after 90 minutes of whizzing down flumes, which made removing them much easier than it is after an hour at Britannia where they always feel slightly shortchanged. That said, it might be a bit much for younger kids – which brings me to my next point…

Woolwich Waves is great for younger kids, as well as older ones. The gentler (but still terrifying if you’re a wimp like me) blue slide is aimed at ages 3+ and children don’t have to sit on an adult’s lap (for comparison, children aged 5-8 can only ride the Britannia slide if they’re on an adult’s lap and 0-4s aren’t permitted at all). Actually, the signs specifically forbid children from sitting on laps but everyone was doing it anyway. The green slide is much longer, taller and more winding, with pitch-black moments and steep drops. You can only ride this one if you’re aged 8 or over – or good at convincing the lifeguard that you are. I gave this one a miss because I had a Mr Bean moment and freaked out, but according to the kids it was SO AMAZING.

On a lesser note, Woolwich Waves also feels about 10 degrees warmer than Britannia, which is actually not nothing when I consider how many hours I’ve spent freezing my tits off there over the years. Plus, an extra slide means A LOT less time spent in bobbing around in the little pool with 50 other families – again, not nothing.

I will say that these slides don’t quite match up to the ones I mourn from my youth – namely York Waterworld, which had three slides including one you rode using an inflatable doughnut; and Aqualud in northern France, whose four slides included one with a bowl you sort of plopped out the bottom of into a pool (both have now been demolished because I am 100 years old), but that could just be the nostalgia talking. Still, Woolwich Waves feels like a huge win for the London waterpark landscape, if you can call it that.

Next on our waterpark visit list: The Wave in Coventry. Have you been? Is it good? Let me know.

Where?: Woolwich Waves

Nearest station: Woolwich Arsenal DLR, Woolwich (Elizabeth Line)

When?: Family Fun Swim sessions run on weekends, weekdays after school and during school holidays

Tickets: Juniors £7.05, adults £9.70

Website: better.org.uk