Families and Derby residents are now looking forward to the summer with new-found excitement ahead of the grand re-opening of the Markeaton Park paddling pool.
The highly-popular and free attraction is scheduled to be available to the public from May 25, a bank holiday, after Derby City Council announced delays to essential resurfacing work that saw it close in 2023.
With blue skies and sunny days upon us as we bypass the winter months, visitors have been reflecting on what the re-opening of one of Derby’s best free attractions means to the public.
Pete Hinds (53) who was visiting the park on the day with his wife Sarah (55), from Ashbourne, said he and his family have such fond memories from years gone-by.
He added: “It’s great to see it open again, well, in the summertime.
“When our kids were little, we used to bring them here every summer.”
Originally opened in the 1920s, the swimming pool has catered for generations before and will continue to service them in the future. For Pete, it highlights exactly this.
He added: “It’s nice knowing that our kids and the kids after that and hopefully after those again, can enjoy it just as ours did.
“It was always a great day out for our kids, who are grown up now.”
The pool being a free attraction as well as being so accessible for all is what makes it so popular and renowned.
“It didn’t cost us anything,” Pete added.
“It’s really a great place for families that just a want a day out or like us, to get their kids out of their hair during the summer holidays for a few hours.”
Sarah described the re-opening as emotional and “a blast from the past”.
She said: “It’s wonderful. It’s nostalgic, like we’ve gone back in time almost.
“Like Pete said, I remember taking our kids here and maybe our grandkids when it re-opens in the summer.”
“Yeah, really good memories – it’s been missed more than you realise.”
In the modern day and age, it is a rarity that attractions such as this come for free.
“We used to bring our little ones down here for free, the only thing that would cost us was the parking.
“They’d splash about for a few hours while we sat back on our picnic blanket and soaked in the sunshine,” she explained.
The summer months and subsequent summer breaks for children are edging closer- light at the end of the tunnel.
With the re-opening of the paddling pool to look forward to, the summer break for children and families promises to be an unforgettable one.
