Last Updated on 26 March 2024 by Colette
This post features product gifted for review
Back in August Amy was invited to have a cheeky extra Puddle Ducks swimming lesson in the summer holidays at Aqua Nurture. Aqua Nurture was opened back in March and had been a real labour of love for Gary and Suzanne (owners of the Puddle Ducks Greater Manchester franchise). They had a dream and boy did they go for it, selling their own home to finance the re-purposing of a pub in Gee Cross, Hyde into a fantastic new venue for local families – of course the main focus is the Puddle Ducks swimming lessons in the bright, warm 8m x 6m hydro pool but the venue also plays host to a number of mother and baby groups including baby massage and baby sensory making it a real “family hub” for Gee Cross and the surrounding area.
Aqua Nurture has a really welcoming atmosphere (as you would expect if you’ve ever had any dealings with Gary & Suzanne who are both utterly lovely and so very passionate about the work they do). The café area serving delicious coffees, soft drinks and cakes is great value and there’s even a play area. I must admit that this alone had me wishing we could swap our lessons over to Aqua Nurture but Claire’s sessions clash with Amy’s nursery for now. I love the idea of settling in for a brew & a bit of cake after a swimming lesson in cosy surroundings … Who wouldn’t?
The changing areas are well thought out with changing tables in each spacious cubicle and large buckets to store your belongings in – no faffing about with coins or locker keys which if you’ve ever been swimming with a toddler, will come as something of a relief. Once you get pool-side there’s plenty of space for spectators, which of course Amy loved. She’s always super motivated when she has Ben and Chloe to perform to!
The pool itself is smaller than you may be used to but I loved this – rather than the high ceilings and big noisy spaces of your average swimming pool this feels safer and more secure for your little one. Oh and it’s lovely and warm! Amy normally wears a Konfidence shorty wetsuit for her lessons but there was no need at Aqua Nurture.
Amy’s lesson at Aqua Nurture was a joy. Both Claire and I had fully expected that after the long summer break that Amy would be nervous and perhaps a little lacking in enthusiasm but she proved us wrong! Whether it was the warmth of the water, the smaller pool or just the mood she was in I don’t know but she had a fantastic lesson and impressed us all.
One of my most favourite things about swimming at Aqua Nurture is that, because it’s not a public pool, you are allowed to photograph & film your child swimming – not during the lesson itself but during Splash Time at the end and of course you must be careful not to photograph other people’s children. It won’t surprise you to know that I took full advantage of this and made a video to show you exactly how Amy is getting on….
Amy has been swimming with Puddle Ducks for over a year now and in that time her both confidence and skills have flourished. Since filming this video back in August, Amy has increased in confidence and now even manages the occasional underwater swim for me so I’m hoping to go back to Aqua Nurture in the new year to make another video showing off more of her skills!
Follow our full Puddle Ducks / Swim Academy journey here!
Sounds great for little ones. Wish we had something like that in our area. All the swimming pools are so cold and not very clean.
Fab pictures! It looks like a lot of fun for Amy. x
This is so lovely and yay Amy. I am trying to encourage my sister to get the twins, aged 2, into the water and learning to win as soon as she can x
Learning to swim can be a tough and stressful thing for kids so the right environment is so important x
This sounds great for little ones, I loved swimming as a kid!
I’ve heard fantastic things about Puddle Ducks! This venue sounds really great too!
This looks like lots of fun, I’ve heard some great things about Puddle Ducks
Looks like such a great place to learn how to swim! Wish the pool where I learned how to swim was like this.
Aw, I miss those days. Now mine just try to duck me, while splashing me in the face and laughing – such fun! How fab to have some photos to look back on too.
This looks like so much fun. And I’m LOVING the rubber ducks. I’m a bit obsessed 🙂 Well done Amy for being a swimming pro!
They’re ace aren’t they! They have little ones in our lessons usually so she thought the huge one was super exciting!
Swimming with little ones is so so good. Erin is a fish in the water and I think it is such an important skill to learn.
This looks like a wonderful venue. Learning to swim in warm, cosy surroundings is so much more successful than the cold public pools I remember from my childhood!
I love the little video, well done Amy, great progress and clearly enjoying her lessons too
Sounds fantastic all round from the place itself to the lessons #TriedTested
I have just read another blog review of Puddle Ducks and they sound really great. Will have to take my kids swimming lessons next year #TriedTested
She’s doing so well! We did 12 weeks of lessons with another swimming group when Arlo was little but sadly couldnt continue it but I feel bad about it all the time! I will get them swimming though!
Wow that looks perfect. I’ve always been a bit lazy about taking my kids swimming because of all of the issues you’ve mentioned with public pools but this one seems to address all of those brilliantly.
#TriedTested
She looks like she loves the water, it’s great to see little ones learning to swim, I wish I took mine more when they were younger! #triedtested
It is such a brilliant idea and a lovely place to learn to swim.
That looks like such good fun, I love the idea of the building being dedicated to children learning to swim. I’ve heard lots of good things about Puddle Ducks. #TriedTested
How fab! We do council run lessons which piglet loves, but the pool is huuuuuuuuuuuge so they run a couple of classes at the same time. Its ok at the moment but I imagine he may find that distracting as he gets old #triedtested
Yes my older two do the same – I’m not a massive fan of their lessons tbh but at least it gets them in the pool regularly. I wish they’d swum with Puddle Ducks instead.
Lovely photos – looks like a really great place for the little ones to learn to swim
Sally @ Life Loving
It sounds like a lovely place and a great idea to build confidence in water!
Wow this looks lovely, such a nice space and the cakes look delicious too!!
These looks fun. I know that my daughter would love swimming but I never go because I wear glasses and wonder how it will work. Contacts are a no go at the moment.
Jodie x
The parents who wear glasses just wear them in the pool – it never seems to be a problem x
What a wonderful pool, they’ve thought of everything. Amy is doing brilliantly X
Aww lovely photos, Amy seems so happy in the water. I would love a place like this to open up near me! xx
This sounds great, I would love to do something like this with my little girl 🙂
Swimming is a great skill to acquire and through enjoyment it is easier to acquire. #TriedTested
It looks like a lovely place to learn to swim! #TriedTested
Learning to swim is such an important thing. This sounds fan and I’d love to do this with my little one. Well done xx
I wish we had something like Puddle Ducks near us – O has been on the waiting list for swimming lessons for over 12 months :o/ x
This looks absolutely amazing!! I am hoping to get my 3 year old some swimming lessons next year and also my 6 year old who started to learn at age 5 but didn’t do very well at all. Funny how kids are all different isn’t it? Our 9 year old started learning at 6 and moved up 3 badges in 18 months! 🙂 hoping my boy will do well.
We do Puddle Ducks swimming lessons too but at the moment they’re not going so well after a bad underwater photoshoot experience…still trying to get Little B’s confidence back #TriedTested
This looks amazing. Boo goes swimming with her daddy each week but I think next year I might look in to lessons as I think she would love them. those ducks are fab!
That looks like a lovely swimming pool to go to, nice and quiet, which makes it lovely and calm. Well done to her doing so well