Butlin’s has been a part of the British holiday scene for more than 70 years and its pools are a central feature of each resort. But what have they to offer the 21st century holidaymaker? Jan Hurst reports…

Transforming the British holiday experience, the vision of Butlin’s founder, Billy Butlin’s, back in the 1930s, was to provide affordable, fun holidays for British families. The mission statement stays the same but today’s facilities, with multi-million water leisure investments are a world away from the chalet-style accommodation of the original Butlins’ camps.

Lidos have a special meaning for those of us of a certain age. They evoke childhood memories of style and glamour with outdoor swimming, ice creams by the pool and art deco buildings, often gleaming white. But the development of modern indoor pools saw a great number of these outdoor pleasure palaces disappear as they fell into disrepair and failed to compete with modern local sports facilities.

Barry McCabe, owner of multi-awarding winning, Oyster Pools & Leisure, based in Monmouthshire, Wales, was once a London bus driver. Therefore, without him knowing, his wife Paula devised a ‘mobile party’ for Barry’s 70th that everyone agreed was a triumph.

Regarded as the expert in wellbeing rooms for prestigious residential properties, Dröm UK has designed many stunning bespoke saunas and steam rooms which are often situated side by side for the ultimate bathing experience. Proving that saunas are no longer just a wooden box, there is nothing ordinary about the innovative saunas from Dröm UK. Meeting new standards of aesthetics, functionality and luxury, each room is individually hand-crafted by skilled craftsmen. Every detail, from the feature lighting or integrated music system to the ergonomically designed benches, is carefully considered. The finest quality materials make the sauna stylish and practical inside and out.

olden Coast has secured an exclusive UK distribution deal with leading filter cartridge manufacturer Darlly Europe. The announcement comes hot on the heels of confirmation that Triogen, a world leader in ozone and UV water treatment systems, has selected Golden Coast, as its first and only UK distributor.

With names like Master Blaster, Lagoona Bay and Volcano Springs, the Cariba Creek water park at the Alton Tower’s Splash Landings Hotel is still conjuring up as much aquatic excitement as it was when it first switched on the water features ten years ago.

Team work paid off for the Hydropool UK team as they reported record sales at the Ideal Home Show for the third year in succession. With up to 17 sales personnel staffing the stand at the annual Earl’s Court consumer home show, Hydropool were taking no chances, completing the huge display area a day earlier this year to allow the entire team to take part in a bespoke pre-event sales training day.

Co- owner of Bell Leisure, Lawrence Pearce has always wanted to complete a marathon before he was 50 and, at 46 and counting; time was running out. So Lawrence signed up for this April’s Brighton marathon and began a strict training regime which resulted in him losing three and a half stone. “The marathon training was extremely hard but I got great support from my wife and girls throughout,” commented Lawrence.