Olympic medalist Rebecca Adlington is opening a new swimming pool for kids in Leeds
""It has been a joy to watch a new swim facility take shape in Yorkshire, and I hope it encourages local children to learn to love the water as much as I do.”
A new purpose-built facility on Frontier Business Park in Batley (just fifteen minutes from Leeds city centre) will open on Saturday 7 May thanks to four Olympic medalist, Rebecca Adlington OBE and will cater for families with children aged 0 - 11.
The centre is thought to have been designed to offer a unique swimming journey for both babies and children and is set to include modern amenities like a 31 degree warm pool, parent and guest viewing lounge, kids play area, online progress tracking and fun swimming lessons.
Best of all, there's no current waiting lists and upon opening, lessons will run every day of the week, some of which will initially come free of charge.
Named Swim! Leeds Batley, introduction sessions for all children will be available free of charge from Saturday 7th May, with official swimming lessons starting on Monday 16th May.
Double Olympic medalist Rebecca Adlington has been behind the development, as co-founder of Sporting House, a group of Olympian-led brands, which includes swim!, SwimStars and Beth Tweddle Gymnastics.
The athlete has a number of swim-related businesses that help children to access swimming pools. / Image: Becky Adlington's Swim Stars
Becky Adlington is a decorated athlete that's become a household name and an inspiration for young swimmers across the UK since her rise to fame at the 2008 Olympic games.
With a staggering number of accolades to her name, the athlete hopes to encourage little Yorkshire folk to "take the plunge and discover their love for swimming".
The new centre will provide an opportunity for children in Batley the opportunity to do just that- but learning the incredible life skill in the water can also aid additional development skills like confidence, determination, resilience and social skills too.
The new Batley pool is just one of the efforts that the decorated swimmer has made to ensure that children of all ages, abilities and background are able to access swimming lessons.
Speaking about Swim! Leeds Batley, the Becky Adlington commented: “As schools and leisure facilities closed and the pandemic left children with less spaces to get active, we needed to take action and give kids the chance to get moving, socialise with others and hopefully discover a new hobby.“
"Swimming is also an essential life-saving skill and we are determined to break down barriers, whether that be a lack of facilities, teachers or lesson availability, to make sure swimming is accessible for all children.“
"With the opening of the new Batley centre, children will not only learn to swim, but will gain a whole host of transferable skills sure to benefit them as they grow up.
"It has been a joy to watch a new swim facility take shape in Yorkshire, and I hope it encourages local children to learn to love the water as much as I do.”
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Sophie Smith -
28th April 2022 
