I was here quite a bit over the weekend for the International Children's Games Lanarkshire 2011…read more They used the Hamilton Palace Sports Grounds for the boys and girls football tournaments. The pitches are spaced out well and it was well labelled so we were able to find the games we were to film. The sports grounds are part of Strathclyde Park but owned by South Lanarkshire Council. This site was were T in the Park used to be before moving to Balado. The grounds are easy to get to with motorway access from the M74. I believe the grounds can also be used for American Football, rugby, cricket, and also has a couple of bowling greens and synthetic tennis courts. Unfortunately we didn't get to film the tennis and there wasn't any of the other sports on. Good facilities though with reasonable prices going from their website. They is also a Pavillion which is the main building for the changing areas and toilets. They also have plenty of vending machines to keep you going.

When I was in Glasgow on Wednesday 17 July 2019 , the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena was…read morehousing a T-rex exhibit. Banners along the streets marked that the critter skeleton was in town and observable at Kelvin Hall from 18 April 2019 through 31 July 2019. I was a little confused as the exhibit hall looked to be part of an indoor sports arena. It was a wee bit of culture shock for me, and I was like - am I in the right place. Sure enough, a worker at the front desk pointed me towards the exhibit. The T-rex was pretty neat and had a lit-up informational display approach. Is it glow in the dark ink or an electronic display, or just really bright ink... Walking around in the exhibit was easy as the floorpan was well designed for human bipedal locomotion. A gift shop by the exhibit hall exit provided physical offerings to remember one's experience(s) by.

I was all set to give Kelvinhall three stars - partly for being such a beautiful historic building…read more(from the outside), and partly for the nice staff who work there. That was until last night, when I discovered that the water in the taps in all the changing rooms is apparently not fit for human consumption. W-w-w-w-hat?! In a sports hall? Where there is no access to water that is ok for drinking (apart from in the gym). I visit Kelvinhall twice a week and have been drinking the tap water for around a year ... I was horrified. You'd think they'd put up a sign at least? Apart from that, Kelvinhall is closing for refurbishment sometime this year so don't expect anything flash at the moment. Here's hoping they do something nice with it for it's reopening (and sort out the water!)

I've been past this sports centre many times as I have never had a reason to go before but the…read moreInternational Children's Games (ICG) Lanarkshire took me this way. When I entered I was greeted by friendly and helpful staff. The building reminds me of my old high school in a way through some of its features. It was probably built around the same time under Strathclyde Regional Council standard designs. It has most of the usual facilities of a sports centre but the main reason I was there was to film the athletics. The sports centre has a large outdoor track and field. The children could run around the track while there was shot put and high jump competing at the same time. They had also set up a long jump. The facilites where excellent and the centre did an excellent job as they were still catering to the public as well as the games going on. The Centre is a pleasant venue although slighty dated but still good for various sports facilites.

The Gorbals Leisure Centre was the flagship in Glasgow's attempt to modernise its facilities: apart…read morefrom some teething troubles in the early years, it has become a well-used and popular location. The gym is a small, compared to Bellahouston and lacks much in the way of free weights: most of the space is given over to cardiovascular equipment like treadmills. But, it has the little TV screens on each item, so you can watch Jeremy Kyle as you pound out the miles. The swimming pool is the big attraction- it has a smaller pool for kids, with rapids and a circuit that turns into a desperate race against the artificial tide. There are also jacuzzis by this pool, which end up being the main attraction. Most people fit in their lengths of the main pool when the jacuzzi is switched off to be refreshed. The sauna and jacuzzi suite is larger- and even more popular. The first time I went there, I noticed many men standing at the large windows that look over the pool. "That's odd," I thought. "I wouldn't stand over there, in case the people in the pool below thought I was leching at the women in bikinis." Well, at least I can get a steam room to myself.

Toddler tantrums are often unavoidable. If you have a toddler one tantrum you can avoid is one by…read morethe edge of a play pool clearly meant for little kids. Don't go to the Gorbals. Mondays have become our day for swimming. Only one week into this routine our plan was threatened by a "must do" errand in town (parking permits - a much resented bite into a weekday every year). The Gorbals Leisure Centre was our plan's Savior: park at the pool wander into town and then come back for a nice swim. It is very close to town. The reception desk lady was very grumpy. She took my failure to find my purse (in my other bag - though I didn't know that til later) as an attempt to fraudulate and demanded some proof of identity. She prompted me to ask for tickets for the kids despite it being obvious that both were well under 5 (under 5s are free the girls are both just turned 2) and that there were two of them. The water in the pool seemed pretty cold but that could just be that my toddler now enjoys swimming on her own with leaves me standing doing not very much. It seemed to have good facilities for disabled people (better than I have noticed in Bellahouston or Scotstoun but that could just be because there was someone using them today) However, not so good for babies/ toddlers, less facilities. Although it does have a couple of those play - what do you call ems - baby jails. The defining experience, for me, was that they have a play area for under 5s but it is ineffectively coned off; dirty and on further enquiry: not safe. If my daughter could write this review it might have gone along the lines of- "We went to the swimming pool. There was an amazing looking set of wee slides and pool and a fun bubble pool. My mum stopped me from going in any of these amazing looking environments. I made it quite clear to everyone I was unimpressed with her behaviour." Or maybe she would just tell you that she played with some woggles and a float; she went round and round in a circle (in the circular current thingy); that the lifeguard had to dive in because a wee girl was maybe drowning; oh and also that she climbed inside a locker and giggled quite a lot. Dunno? But we won't be going back, at least not until I have another rubbish errand to run in the town centre and really want to go swimming that day ...

My only complaint is that the pool is only 20m and there is often swimming lessons where they rope…read moreoff the pool into three sections. So you can't get a good swim. However I live locally and the pool timetable is mostly adhered to - so not a problem for me. There is a fun inflatables night on a Friday which the kids love. There is plenty of parking spaces available to park. There seems to be a lot of classes running and local clubs including the Strathaven Striders meet there. Great for the local community.

The sports centre was attached to the old high school. It is still open and contains rooms for…read moreplaying squash and viewing areas. They also hold different fitness classes along with a small gym, sauna etc. The people of Strathaven managed to raise the funds for a swimming pool located in the sports centre it is a 20m pool with various time for different activities such as fun play with inflatables to swimming classes. There is a viewing area as well. The sports centre has a car park which is free to use.

This place has been in Motherwell since I was born. It's hard to imagine Motherwell without it…read more It used to be a swimming pool/ice rink combo with many a Sunday afternoon spent here skating when I was younger. The ice rink has since been done away with and replaced with a really good gym, probably the biggest and best in North Lanarkshire. The swimming pool is a fun pool, barely a metre deep and only good for splishy splashy times, not a proper swim. They have a good health suite with a sauna and steam room where, despite the signs about NOT shaving, there are always hairy old men shaving. The pool is rarely busy aside from summer time when kids under 16 can swim free when it is bedlam. The gym, as I said, is ace. There is at least two of everything so you are guaranteed to get a shot of whatever it is you are wanting to use, with some really modern equipment. The 'gym music' can be really loud which drowns out my own work out playlists much to my annoyance, but other than that, there isn't much to fault the place. A busy place.

The aquatec is actually a really well-equipped gym. The gym itself is in the same layout as the old…read moreice rink, and it works. I was a member here for a while, so let me explain, for a student it is only £15 a month and you can with that use any of the North Lanarkshire gyms. When you join you are given an induction with a personal trainer, who writes you a workout card to your specific needs and goals. You can use the gym at any time with a membership and get a place on any of the classes, spin, body pump, you name it, its free. You will need to book the week before though becasue they get filled up quite quick. If you do not want to to join as a member I think the original induction is around £8, and the n subsequent visits are maybe £3 something. So after a few visits you are better just becoming a member.

I've only been to Scotstoun for the rugby at the stadium, so my review relates to that…read more The stadium is fairly small, about 1/10 capacity of Ibrox or Parkhead. There's only 3 stands at Scotstoun, but at £15 for a standing ticket (in advance) you can't complain about watching Glasgow's only pro rugby team. Watching rugby live isn't like watching it on TV, the atmosphere is much better than you'd expect for 6000 people. On match days you'll find plenty of small food trucks, a dedicated Guinness bar (pro12 sponsors) as well as the clubhouse which has a bar, food & pre/post match entertainment. There's a merchant stall as well as a kids zone to keep the wains entertained. The one difference between football & rugby games is that you'll find some of the players wandering around & taking part in passing circles with kids etc. If you've never been down to a rugby match at Scotstoun, then you're missing out on a great afternoon/evening. There's beer as well!

Surprisingly for such a large swimming pool, it is possible to catch a quiet time in here: although…read moreit is used by schools and has a large programme of lessons, there is always space for a few leisurely lengths. In line with the general run of Glasgow Council's pools, the centre is immaculately clean, and a gym membership covers all of the Council's sports' facilities. The gym is busy and businesslike: Scoutstoun is the ideal place for a complete work out, even if it is some distance from the town centre and slightly off the beaten track. The sauna suite suite is especially impressive, with a women only night on Tuesday, but it always worth catching a class or two. The Body Combat is good for a high energy laugh.

Firhill Complex (not to be confused with the football stadium up the road) consists of a hall space…read moreas well as football 5-a-side pitches. Having never been on the pitches I won't comment on these. The complex is easy to find off Maryhill Road, and has its own parking lot. Sometimes this can get quite busy but there is space on a gravel section where you can park if all the spots are gone. Walking through the car park, be sure to watch out for flying footballs from the pitches as this tends to happen quite a bit. Inside the building is pretty basic. There's a foyer area where people are always milling about, change rooms and toilets for getting ready. These areas are somewhat well kept, I think they could lift their game a little bit. The hall is the part I am most familiar with, and love for sentimental reasons. This is where I first started training to play roller derby so I have many happy memories from training here with Glasgow Roller Derby. I've been back a couple of times recently for extra training sessions. The hall isn't perfect by any stretch - the floor has some bolts and rough patches in part but generally it is kept clean and tidy. They're very prompt at closing at 10 so be sure to get yourself out and into your car quick smart - once all the lights in the car park are off, this area can seem a little scary.

The Firehill Sports Complex is a great place to join as it is one of the cheapest sports centres in…read morethe city. As it is a sport and leisure facility aimed at local people it offers an extensive range of activities from football to yoga. The complex can accommodate individuals in the fitness room which also hosts exercise classes and it can also host doubles in badminton and short tennis. If you like a game of football then the large pitches can accommodate up to 100 people - lots of teams. I've been to some of the exercises classes and I really enjoyed them. The instructor was great; she worked the class hard but I left feeling fit and very proud of myself :-)