Liz and I have just got back from a "recce" of the Hermitage Leisure Centre (in the rain............) and we can report the following.
The sports hall is the size of six badminton courts i.e. about the same as the ones at South Shields and Birchwood. Unloading is from the large car park at the rear via two sets of double doors. Vehicles will not be allowed into the hall itself.
There are the usual leisure centre facilities (by way of toilets etc) and also a small cafeteria. This includes.............a licensed bar.............which has an opening hatch directly into the sports hall! Needless to say you don't have to buy booze if you don't want to - they also serve tea, coffee, snacks blah blah.
There are a large number of car parking spaces, although I have to say it was pretty busy even for a Saturday morning. We understand from Mark Williams that the management have arranged for marshalled parking for show exhibitors and visitors. The lake isn't immediately adjacent to the centre; it's about a 500 yard stroll (level ground) across two grass football pitches and alongside an all-weather area. The lake is approx 360yds x 200yds and has an island in the middle. It comes complete with a small slipway, a few car-parking spaces, a kiddies play area, some Canada geese, a lot of carp (allegedly) and the Swadlincote Anglers Club - I hope they're friendly. If you don't feel like walking then you can drive from the leisure centre to the lake in about five minutes and park your car right next to the water. I'd advise you to bring wellies or thigh-waders for launching and retrieving models as the water depth shallows to nothing in this area. The water level seems to be well up despite the lack of rainfall in the area (except for today.....). The banks are quite steep and muddy elsewhere around the lake.
There is a Google Satelite view here
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=hermitage+leisure+centre+map&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=hermitage+leisure+centre&cid=0,0,16043617307288072395&ei=98c_T_GKA4be8QP25tyECA&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CA4Q_BIThe sports hall is the large white rectangle in the middle of the image - and if you can't find the lake in the picture then don't make any plans to drive yourself!
BTW the roads around Whitwick are pretty narrow (with parking generally along one side of the road) and no-one bothers too much about right-of-way, so take care once you've turned onto Hermitage Road.
From the A42 Junction 13 take the A511 towards Coalville. Go through two roundabouts and turn left at the third one into Hermitage Road. The Recreation Area (with the lake) is signposted off to the left, and the Leisure Centre is also on the LHS about ¼ mile further on, on Silver Street.
See you there?
Dave & Liz @ ACTion
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Topic: National Model Boat Show (Read 6386 times)