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SUNNY weather in the UK often makes you want a refreshing swim – and there is one spot that families are claiming is the best in the country to do this.

The Wave in Coventry is no normal indoor waterpark.

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Instead visitors can expect the biggest wave pool in the UK.

The further into the pool you go, the bigger the waves get, reaching a total height of up to half a metre and will operate at specific times during a swim session.

How do you know the waves are coming? A warning signal will blast out.

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During the 10:15am to 12:15pm session, the waves will run at 10:30am, 11am, 11:30am and 12pm, for 10 minutes at a time.

During the 1pm to 3pm session the wave pool will run at quarter past and quarter to each hour for 10 minutes at a time, which is the same for the 4pm to 6pm session.

And across these sessions, the wave pool churns around 20 million litres of water, everyday.

But visitors get more than just waves when they visit as the waterpark also has six slides.

These include The Torrent, where – rather scarily – the floor disappears from beneath you, making you plunge into a pool below (though this is currently closed for the foreseeable due to technical issues).

There’s also The Crestar, which has two giant enclosed spheres you whirl around in as lighting effects flash around you.

And like any good waterpark, there’s a water coaster – The Rapids – which hurls riders up the ride before dropping them through a series of tunnels.

Other rides include The Cyclone, which is one of the fastest at the park and The Riptide.

For those who aren’t a fan of waterslides and rides, then there are other attractions too including a lazy river with bubbles and water jets.

Little kids are included as well, with The Reef splash zone, which includes mini slides, tipping buckets, jets and fountains.

One person on TripAdvisor even said: “Wow, I’m blown away, that is the best waterpark I have ever been to.”

Another added: “This was the best water park I’ve ever been to!

“It had a great DJ, loads of amazing slides and lots of fun for the whole family.

“The facility and how it is run is very slick. Would definitely recommend!”

Off- peak tickets cost £15 per adult and £13 per child and peak tickets cost £19.70 per adult and £15 per child.

If one parent fancies a little R&R while the other enters the waves with the kids, there is also the Mana spa onsite with a swimming pool, aromatherapy room, steam room, sauna and foot spa.

A three hour pass costs from £35 on weekdays, or £45 at weekends and on bank holidays.

If you do want to have a treatment, options include facials, pedicures and back massages.

There’s also a gym onsite.

What’s even better is that The Wave is just a 10-minute walk from Coventry train station.

A striking UK destination used as a movie set, with 27,000 acres of ancient woodland and a meandering river passing through, has been named one of the ‘best places in the world’

Some of the world’s most spectacular places are right on our doorstep, and there’s one in the heart of an enchanting UK woodland.

Nestled between the Rivers Wye and Severn in Gloucestershire, straddling the Welsh border, lies the ancient Forest of Dean, with 27,000 acres of towering, majestic trees. It’s one of England’s largest ancient woodlands and stands as a celebrated haven of outstanding natural beauty.

It attracts visitors from far and wide to admire and explore its otherworldly woodland, rustic bridges, snowdrops, and spiralling rivers. But there’s one particular spot in the Forest of Dean that has been deemed the ‘best place in the world’.

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Speaking to the Mirror, forest ranger for Forest Holidays, Gerry O’Brien, said: “I love the Forest of Dean, it’s obviously an area very close to my heart, it’s rich in history, heritage and wildlife. I know it really well, inside out, I guess, now. There are a lot of hidden gems around the forest that I love to go and explore, but Symonds Yat Rock is one of my favourite places in the world. It’s an incredible place to go, and I love it.”

Symonds Yat Rock offers breathtaking views across the winding River Wye, which is towered over by limestone cliffs and sprawling acres of ancient woodland. It’s a haven for birdwatching, with goshawks, buzzards, and sparrowhawks sweeping over the viewpoint, and it has ample walking trails to soak up the picturesque vistas and explore the nearby forest.

Gerry further shared about Symonds Yat Rock: “It’s incredible, it’s an old Iron Age Hill Fort, it’s almost right on the Hertfordshire border, looking out over the countryside. You could imagine, like 2,500 years ago, people were living on that rock, which is hard to believe.

“There are peregrine falcons that nest in the cliff face along the edge, so you can often see them coming up. There’s also a woodland, and if you’re looking down from Symonds Yat Rock, with the River Wye below you, you can look out over Copper Hill and on the other side, it’s the woodland where Harry Potter was filmed.”

Sharing a closer insight into the area and its renowned connections, Gerry added: “If you go to Symonds Yat East, it’s a little hamlet by the river, it’s beautiful and really picturesque. But you walk right past the house that was used in the Netflix series, Sex Education.

“It’s the red house, so all of that was filmed in and along the Wye Valley. There are a lot of hidden gems around the Forest of Dean. They’ve done alot of movies and TV work around the forest.”

Another highlight in the Forest of Dean’s otherworldly scenes is the beautiful Puzzlewood with 14 acres of twisted, moss-draped trees, ancient wooden bridges and snowdrops scattered across the rugged terrain. Alongside Gerry’s favourite place in the world, Puzzlewood is frequently hailed as one of the region’s most picturesque locations.

It even secured a place on Big 7 Travel’s ’50 Most Beautiful Places in the UK’ list for 2025 and again this year. This fantastical atmosphere has also attracted Hollywood attention, serving as a backdrop for productions such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Secret Garden, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Doctor Who, Merlin, Netflix’s Our Planet and BBC’s Atlantis.

Elsewhere in the Forest of Dean, Gerry recommended King Arthur’s Cave and the nearby Little Doward Hill Fort, an Iron Age fort situated in the Wye Valley. But one lesser-known landmark he applauded is the Darkhill Ironworks.

“It’s an old industrial ruin, and it’s really atmospheric where nature has reclaimed around it”, Gerry shared. “You can do a little walk around the Ironworks, which is a nice nature walk, and you can see the ruins.”

To explore some of Gerry’s recommendations in the Forest of Dean, you can book a stay with Forest Holidays, which offers a collection of lodges, cabins and treehouses, some with outdoor hot tubs to soak under the towering trees. Meanwhile, the likes of Sykes Holiday Cottages and Holidaycottages.co.uk also offer a range of stays in the region.

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McOsker said Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe program has been effective in clearing homeless encampments and moving the residents inside. He supports reducing costs by doubling people up in rooms and cutting underutilized contracts.

“It’s unsustainable as it is to spend this much, and I think everyone recognizes that,” he said.

McOsker said he supports “no encampment” zones, per Municipal Code 41.18, around places like schools, day care centers, libraries and homeless shelters.

It’s especially important to keep encampments away from shelters, he said, so people can get help without distractions nearby.

“We really need to make that break and give folks an opportunity to put their lives together,” he said.

Rivers equated the no-encampment zones to federal immigration operations in the city, arguing that they enable law enforcement to snatch people off the street without giving them a place to go.

“Just moving homelessness doesn’t all of a sudden solve it,” he said.

Instead, Rivers wants to establish “safe shelter” zones where people can get their needs met instead of being chased out.

Rivers believes that Inside Safe contractors should be audited and that there should be “full transparency” in the amount of money spent to house each person.

“We need to actually have a track record of where these funds are going to,” so it’s clear the money actually is helping to resolve homelessness, he said.

FOR those waterpark fans amongst you, there are some exciting plans in the works with five more potentially coming to the UK.

From massive indoor resorts with beaches, to surfing lagoons, here’s everything you need to know.

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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

Chessington is known for its rides, zoo and aquarium, but is hoping to add waterpark fun to its offerings.

Back in 2024, the theme park submitted plans to build an African-themed waterpark with six water slides, two lazy rivers and rapids.

If given the go-ahead, it will have a kids wave pool, splash pad, spa pool, a safari beach, cafe and outdoor restaurants.

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The plans are for it to be built opposite the Safari Hotel.

First-look images reveal a huge indoor waterpark with outdoor waterfalls and greenery surrounding the pool areas.

Little else is known about it right now, with the last update back in 2024.

Therme Manchester

When Therme Manchester opens, it will be the “largest water-based wellbeing destination in Europe“.

It’s set to cost £500million, and could welcome three million people a year to its indoor resort.

It will be every waterpark’s fan dream with spa and wellness facilities that will be split into three distinct zones – Play, Relax and Restore.

The Play zone will focus on ‘next-generation’ water slides, along with a wave pool, warm water pool, steam rooms, saunas and lounging and family dining experiences.

This zone will have an outdoor beach too.

The Relax zone will be adults-only and there will be a “focus on premium wellbeing experiences”, as well as indoor and outdoor pools, waterfall showers, mineral baths, steam rooms, saunas and dining.

The last area is the Restore Zone and is also adults-only.

Here will be “industry leading health, nutrition and wellbeing therapies”, “sauna rituals”, experience showers, wellbeing consultations and dining.

Therme is due to open next to the Trafford Centre in late 2028.

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Blue Bay Beach Resort, Rhodes

The four-star Blue Bay Beach Resort sits a stone’s throw away from this beach, and has its own pools, splash park and water slides. Here you’re only a 15-minute drive away from Rhodes Old Town, where UNESCO-listed medieval streets wind through castle-like architecture. Make sure to check out the Street of the Knights, one of the best-preserved medieval streets in Europe.

BOOK HERE

Gouves Bay Hotel, Crete

Gouves Bay Hotel keeps things simple on a sunny Greek island location right by the sea. This hotel has a relaxed, family-friendly feel with two pools, a kids’ club and easy all-inclusive dining. And if you fancy a change of atmosphere, Gouves’ bars and tavernas are just a short walk away for your choice of evening drinks with a view.

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Aegean View Aqua Resort, Kos

The picturesque hotel is perched up high and surrounded by lush greenery in the historic harbour town of Kos. Here you’ll find a huge swimming pool and a waterpark, as well as activities like darts, tennis, football and more. There’s evening entertainment six days a week, and an on-site spa with a hot tub and sauna to unwind.

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TUI Blue Lagoon Queen, Halkidiki

This mega resort with six pools and its own waterpark is rated five stars by TUI. In the main restaurant, you’ll see show cooking displays as you take your pick from an extensive international buffet. Plus, Kalives beach is on the doorstep of this hotel, with its strikingly blue water and soft golden sands.

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Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge might not mean much to Brits, but it has 23 resorts across North America and Canada, and wants to to open its very first UK site.

The company has submitted plans to built on the current site of Basingstoke Golf Centre on Worting Road in Hampshire.

The plans are for it to be transformed into a 50,000m² complex.

It will consist of three interconnected buildings – one will be a hotel, another an adventure park and the last, an indoor waterpark.

It will be lots of family-friendly pools, slides, rides and splash pads.

Planned activities inside the adventure park will be a children’s haven with a rope course, mini bowling, mini golf and a games arcade.

Seahive

While not a waterpark per se, Seahive is set to be a huge new water attraction near Deal in Kent.

If it gets the go-ahead, Seahive would be the world’s first surfing wellness resort with a dedicated surf lagoon for every skill level with waves ranging in size from 50cm to 2m.

The site will also have a relaxing wellness area, spa and gym.

There’s room for on-land activities too like a skate park for skateboards, bikes and scooters.

Also proposed for the site are 15 holiday lodges and a clubhouse with restaurants.

The Cove Resort

Similar to Seahive, in Southport there will soon be Cove Resort which is a £75million new attraction with incredible views across the Irish Sea.

Visitors will be able to experience leisure activities like an outdoor lagoon with opportunities for surfing.

Other proposed facilities include a thermal spa – the resort will focus primarily on health and wellbeing.

The plans include the building of large 4-star hotel on site too.

For more on waterparks, here are all the ones in the UK mapped – with lazy rivers and wave pools.

And here’s where you will find the waterpark capital of the UK.