Lammas Land Paddling Pool in Cambridge

Lammas Land Paddling Pool is currently closed for the winter, it will reopen next summer. The park remains open year-round.

Lammas Land Paddling Pool

We’ve had quite a few expensive trips and days out in recent weeks. For this week’s escapade, we were looking for something cheap. I referred to my planning notebook (yes I have one), and Lammas Land Paddling Pool in Cambridge seemed to tick all the boxes. The pool itself is completely free, as is the car park, a rare thing in Cambridge.

Check this post for more completely free things to do in Cambridge.

UPDATE: As of 15th July 2019 Lammas Land Car Park is no longer free. Click for prices.

Cambridge is a very green city, and it’s easy to wander away from the compact city centre and find yourself on a country walk. We had done just that as we followed geocaches to Lammas Land and adjoining Sheep’s Green. The pool was empty at the time because it was winter, but I imagine that on a hot day it would be quite a draw.

The British weather is notoriously fickle but the days in the run-up had been cold first thing in the morning and glorious by lunchtime. We have to take our days off when we get them so despite another chilly morning we decided to go for it. It did warm up, but not by much. The sun never really got going, and just after lunch, the heavens opened. I had packed spare clothes for the children to wear after getting out of the pool but nothing for rain. Lessons learnt? Never trust the British weather? Probably should have known that.

If you are looking for things to do with kids in Cambridge, read this post. We had a wonderful time researching it.

What did we think of Lammas Land Paddling Pool?

So aside from the weather, did we enjoy our day out? Ted thought it was great. He’s used to pools with lots of slides and things to do (I’ll write about our day at the Alton Towers Waterpark soon). The Lammas Land Paddling Pool is a large, shallow rectangle, so we decided to splash out on an inflatable boat from the nearby kiosk to keep him entertained.

If he had some friends to play with or if he had more toys, it would have been hours of fun. With our inflatable purchase, we had about an hour of fun. Maybe a little longer with a break for a picnic lunch. He splashed around in circles for a bit then floated around. Meanwhile, his parents were desperately trying to stop the baby from drowning herself. She did not want to be in the water, but that did not stop her running at full speed towards it every time she was let loose.

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Sheep’s Green Learners Pool

We haven’t checked it out yet, but next to Lammas Land Paddling Pool is Sheep’s Green Learners Pool. This is another open-air pool that is entirely free to use. This pool has limited opening hours and a lifeguard on duty. Find out all opening times here.

Facilities

Other from the kiosk which sold the inflatables alongside ice cream, hot drinks and food there were also some public toilets (which may or may not have cost 20p to use, it was unclear).

It’s worth mentioning, there are no changing facilities at Lammas Land Pool, but there are some available at the Learner Pool. Not a problem for the pre-schoolers visiting the pool last week. They were happy to bare all! It’s just something to think about if you want/need to get in too.

Side note – In the interest of saving money, we packed lunch for the kids but forgot to bring anything for ourselves. We shared a tasty but not particularly satisfying cheese pasty from the kiosk.

Newnham Meadows Car Park

UPDATE: As of 15th July 2019 Lammas Land Car Park is no longer free. Click for prices.

At the time we visited the parking at Lammas Land was free which was definitely a significant revelation. It was completely unexpected in the centre of Cambridge. Unsurprisingly it was tricky to get a spot.

Lammas Land Park and Playground

Next to the paddling pool is a large and varied play park. Keeping May amused while Ted was swimming gave me plenty of time to look around. (She learnt the word ‘Go!’ for the top of the slide. I was so proud.) It seemed like instead of ripping out the equipment every few years and replacing it, they had just added more. This meant there were some old pieces next to some band new ones.

When Ted was dry and dressed, he also had to try out everything. I really do mean everything. Obstacle course, wobble web, various roundabouts, swings, and horse thing. He worked his way up to the climbing frame that was definitely meant for children much older than him. He never fails to impress me with his monkey ways.

Useful Information about Lammas Land Paddling Pool

There are several outdoor pools and splashpads in Cambridge. They are only in use during the summer months and some have limited opening hours. You can find out more about all the pools on the council’s website. 

Walks in the Area

Sheep’s Green and Coe Fen are also very pleasant to walk around if you don’t mind the possibility of coming face to face with a large cow. The area is still in use as common land. There is an underpass under the road that separates these two green spaces, which is also used by the herd.

It is also possible to walk along the River Cam from Newnham out of the city of Cambridge to the beautiful Granchester Meadows. We haven’t attempted this one yet, but it’s a walk I am keen to do.

What did the Kids Think?

Ted (age 3) liked the pool, his new boat, climbing like a monkey and the rain. Ted did not like being cold or leaving. May (age 13 months) liked the slide, climbing or play equipment meant for much larger children and running at full speed across concrete towards a large body of water. May did not like touching or being anywhere near the water (too cold; I think) and falling over on the concrete.

I’m not saying you don’t take a baby, just be prepared for a challenge.

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