MEMORIES - Growing up in the 1950s and 60s

Newbridge Fields PADDLING POOL

The Paddling Pool near the band stand in Newbridge Fields was one of our regular haunts when I was a boy. Summer or winter, it was always a popular play place, in the cooler months of the year we would wear our wellingtons to paddle in the pool. The water was shallow enough to paddle comfortably without filling our boots with water, although there was a deeper part where the drainage outlet grid was located; here, if you were very careful, you could paddle right up to the rims of your boots, water slowly seeping in through the string holes. I remember as thirteen year olds a friend and I would entice younger boys to cross that part of the pool; inevitably they would get a bootful and we would feel very smug that our teenage wellingtons were taller than theirs whilst we watched as they lifted their legs up to drain their water-logged wellingtons!

The Paddling Pool in Newbridge Fields where I enjoyed playing when I was a boy.

In this photograph we can see a solitary young lad paddling in his wellingtons while his toy boat floats away from him to the other side of the pool.

The pool, swings and bandstand all disappeared some years ago during flood prevention work, in the background can be seen the "White Bridge" which still remains.