Where to find us?
"Headquarters"
If you are wondering where we are then that all depends when you are looking, sometimes we are out at one of our many sites delivering courses, or other times we are sat in our headquarters answering emails (working from home drinking tea). We are located in Widnes, a town in the North West of England sandwiched between Liverpool and Manchester. But when it comes to courses we are happy to travel all over the England, we occasionally pop into North Wales too, so you might spot us just about anywhere and everywhere.
That being said, we do have a few favourite centres that we like to visit again and again. So check out the venues further below as we tend to run our courses fairly frequently from these locations.
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If you'd like courses running from your own venue then please get in touch and we'd be happy to discuss the possibilities.
Calday Grange Swimming Pool
This is one of our favourite venues and that’s largely down to the lifeguard and teaching team in place here. Calday Pool is a trust run swimming pool in Calday, West Kirby on the Wirral. They offer lane swimming, aqua classes, swimming lessons and they also host several local swimming clubs.
We’ve been lucky enough to deliver lifeguard training for this venue for the past 2 years now, and whilst it does involve a 6am Sunday morning alarm it’s always enjoyable training this team.
During the school holidays Calday pool run crash course swimming lessons and this is when we like to join in. We run our swim teacher courses alongside these lessons and this allows our learners to get the practical experience needed to complete the course. It also means that the swimmers get extra attention and individual feedback from all our learners in addition to the great quality lesson from their regular teachers.
When learners aren't at the pool then they will using the classroom (An actual school classroom) that sits right next door to the pool. It’s not the largest of spaces but it comfortably fits 12 learners plus several rescue manikins and first aid boxes, so more than adequate.
If you are coming by car the address is 1 Gourleys Ln, Newton, La, Birkenhead, Wirral CH48 8AS, this will bring you to the right place but parking is limited so the recommended parking is on the streets and avenues nearby.
If you are coming by public transport then you have a few choices. From Liverpool/Birkenhead it will take approx 1 hour, you take the Merseyrail and get off at West Kirby. If the trains aren’t running (likely at the moment) then you can get the 407 bus and this will bring you to West Kirby too. From West Kirby it’s a 20 minute uphill walk or you can grab the 82 bus which takes just 5 mins, make sure to get off at Gourley’s Lane.
If you are coming from Chester then you can also jump on the Merseyrail to Birkenhead then carry on to West Kirby, it just take a little longer at approx 1 hour 30 mins. If you prefer a slow but comfy bus ride then the 22 bus is ideal as its goes direct to West Kirby from Chester.
Obviously we can’t guarantee that the buses and trains will be running on the days of your course so the responsibility is on you to check the finer details, but hopefully we've pointed you in the right direction.
Kingsway Leisure Centre
This site is right at home for us in Widnes, in fact it’s the same pool that our tutor Graeme worked at as a lifeguard and swim teacher almost 20 years ago. So it’s safe to say that it feels comforting to be back in this building delivering courses and training for so many new people. As this pool (And it’s sister site Brookvale in Runcorn) has so many staff members then we are lucky to deliver lifeguard training multiple times a month and the staff are always incredibly welcoming.
The pools at Kingsway are ideal for teaching swimming lessons because they have a smaller teaching pool alongside the large 25m main pool. So when it comes to swim teacher courses we get to offer you a great experience teaching in different styles of environment. So wherever you end up teaching you will have the skills needed to fit right in.
For the classroom sessions on our courses then we have the benefit of exploring the many large spaces inside the leisure centre, we may find ourselves running about a sports hall learning about physical skills or we may be practising our demonstrations in front of the mirrors of the gym hall.
If you are coming by car the address is Kingsway, Widnes WA8 7QH
The car park is free to use and open all day everyday.
If you are coming by public transport then it’s very convenient. As Widnes train station is located between Liverpool and Manchester then you can simply jump on one of the many trains headed this way, they usually arrive every 30 mins. From Widnes station it’s a simple 20 minute walk (straight down 1 road, so no confusing directions) and you are at the pool.
Remember to always check the train times before leaving, above is just a guide.
Neston Recreation Centre
​Well this is an exciting addition for us here at Three Whistles. Thanks to the fantastic aquatic team at Brio Neston Recreation centre then we are soon delivering a swim teacher level 1 course and we hope to bring you more courses throughout the year. More details soon.
Other sites
Remember that we visit all sorts of different sites for one off courses so the venue you've booked might not be listed above but don't worry, it just means it's not one of our regular sites (maybe it will be in future).
We've been to schools, nurseries, swimming pools, community centres, health clubs, industrial units, offices and many more. So we hope to see you on a course soon but if you have any questions then let us know.