Forget the dream of walking down the aisle, we’re fantasising about swimming down the aisle in this beautiful converted church.
Complete with a 25m swimming pool, you can have a leisurely paddle while you stare at the traditional stained glass windows and impressive wooden ceilings. You’ll quickly master the backstroke, for sure.
The old confessional box is now a sauna, the altar is a shower, and there is also a steam room and a jacuzzi somewhere within the sacred walls. Not only that but the neighbouring barrel-vaulted recreational hall is now a gym, so we can feel even more saintly as we sweat away our sins.
The chapel is situated in the grounds of an old psychiatric hospital, but Repton Park is now a gated housing estate full of fancy apartments and rich footballers. It became a health club a while ago but some people reckon the patients are still lurking about and haunting the premises. Hey, who knows, maybe they’re just big aqua aerobics fans…
Virgin Active, Repton Park, Manor Road, Woodford Green, IG8 8GN. Membership starts at £59 per month (+ joining fee).