Things to do · Bicester
Bicester Leisure Centre
The town's public pool and sports centre on Queens Avenue, run for Cherwell District Council, with a 25m pool, a 15m learner pool and pay-as-you-go public swims booked online.
Family-friendly · Rainy days
A plain public pool at council prices, useful with children on a wet day or for a swim on a longer stay. Public swim times are limited, so book the session online before you go.
- Good: Family swim for two adults and three children, £18.05
- Good: Under-3s swim free
- Good: A 25m pool and a 15m learner pool
- Good: Free car park for 180 cars, with accessible spaces
- Worth knowing: Public swims run at set times only: book a slot online
- Worth knowing: Lockers take a £1 deposit
About
Bicester Leisure Centre on Queens Avenue is the public pool and sports centre for Bicester, run by Active Communities Together on behalf of Cherwell District Council. It has a 25m main pool and a 15m learner pool, a gym, a health suite, squash, badminton and table tennis, and an all-weather pitch. For a visitor the reason to come is a swim, with children on a wet day or as a break on a longer stay.
Public swims are booked online for a date and time, in sessions of 55 minutes, and the booking page shows how many spaces are left. On the centre's day price list a swim costs £5.70 for an adult, £3.73 for a junior aged 3 to 17 or a senior of 67 and over, and nothing for under-3s; a family ticket for two adults and three children is £18.05. Lifeguards are on duty, and lockers in the changing rooms take a £1 deposit.
The centre opens from 6am to 10pm on weekdays, 7am to 6pm on Saturdays and 7am to 9pm on Sundays, but public swims run only at set times within those hours, so check the calendar before you set out. The health suite costs £10.80 for an adult, or £15.80 with a swim. The car park is free, with 180 spaces, and a café serves coffee, paninis, pasta and sandwiches. Pool hoists, a lift and accessible changing, showers and toilets are listed.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 06:00 to 22:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 06:00 to 22:00 |
| Wednesday | 06:00 to 22:00 |
| Thursday | 06:00 to 22:00 |
| Friday | 06:00 to 22:00 |
| Saturday | 07:00 to 18:00 |
| Sunday | 07:00 to 21:00 |
Centre hours. Public swim sessions run at set times within them: see the booking page.
The details
- Time to allow
- A 55-minute swim session
- Features
- Swimming pool · Gym · Café · Parking
- Parking
- Free car park at the centre for 180 vehicles, with accessible, parent-and-child and motorcycle spaces.
Photos
The learner pool 
The sports hall 
The gym 
Reception
Location
Accessibility
- Accessible toilet
- Hearing loop
- Parking within 50 metres
The centre lists electronic entrance doors, a lift, pool hoists, an accessible changing area, accessible showers and toilets, a hearing loop and accessible parking.
Places to stay nearby
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Travelodge Bicester
Hotel · Bicester
A budget chain hotel on Pioneer Square in the middle of Bicester, under half a mile from Bicester North station and within walking distance of Bicester Village, with family, accessible and pet-friendly rooms but no car park of its own.
Dog-friendly · Car-free
Verified Nov 2026
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The Littlebury Hotel, Bicester
Hotel · Bicester
A family-run hotel on Kings End in Bicester since 1959, with 35 en-suite rooms, breakfast included, a lounge bar, gardens and a large car park, within walking distance of the town centre and Bicester Village.
Family-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
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Premier Inn Bicester
Hotel · Bicester
A Premier Inn on Oxford Road, on the A41 at the southern edge of Bicester, half a mile from Bicester Village by the chain's measure, with family, accessible and Premier Plus rooms, a restaurant and a paid car park.
Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Broadribb Cycles, Bicester 0.4 km away
- Mizu Japanese Izakaya, Bicester 0.4 km away
- Travelodge Bicester 0.4 km away
- The Littlebury Hotel, Bicester 0.5 km away
Sights nearby
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St Edburg's Church, Bicester
Sight · Church · Bicester
Bicester's Grade I parish church, grown from a Norman church with a central tower into the big Perpendicular church of today. Inside are brasses from about 1500, Georgian monuments by Scheemakers, Wilton and Westmacott, and a Morris & Co. window of 1866.
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Bicester Market Square
Sight · Historic building · Bicester
The old market place at the centre of Bicester, where the town's market was granted in 1239, lined with listed houses such as No. 47 of 1698 with its oval-windowed tower. The Friday market is on Sheep Street beside it, and the square is due to be remade.
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Bure Park Nature Reserve, Bicester
Sight · Nature reserve · Bicester
A local nature reserve of 8.4 hectares on the north side of Bicester: meadow, young woodland, hedges and scrub along the little River Bure, with a pond that holds great crested newts. Free, small and local, a ten-minute walk from the town centre.
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Garth Park, Bicester
Sight · Common or park · Bicester
Bicester's town park: about 9 acres of lawns, specimen trees and formal beds round Garth House, a Victorian hunting lodge given to the town in 1946. It has the 1732 bell of the old Town Hall, a bandstand, a café and play areas, a few minutes from Market Square.