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.