Butchers Pool

28/08/2026

A sincere thank you to all the volunteers and lifeguards at Butchers Pool for once again ensuring the paddling pool remained open this year. Your continued commitment, time, and hard work are deeply appreciated by our community. We also extend our gratitude to Rhondda Cynon Taf for their support/funding, and to the leisure department staff who attended to maintain the pump house.

Thanks to the exceptional weather, we recorded our highest attendance figures since taking over the pool more than ten years ago. It was wonderful to see so many children enjoying themselves throughout the summer.

We would also like to thank The Vision Project for providing additional activities over the six‑week period. Their contribution added great value to the season and was enjoyed by many families.

Thank you to everyone involved for helping make this year such a success.

Apologies if we have missed out anybody to thank. Your support, in every form, helps make each year a success.

16/08/2026

You can't beat support from your local Co-op.

Butchers Pool would like to thank them for their donations today.

One of our volunteers popped in for some items for themselves and came out with lots of goodies for BP after having a chat with the manager.

👏👏👏👏👏

13/08/2026

What an amazing post about Butchers Pool and the Ynysybwl community ❤️

Butcher’s Pool – A True Ynysybwl Gem 💚

There are some places that capture everything we love about bringing people together through sport. Butcher’s Pool is one of them.

Today, at least 134 people enjoyed Butcher’s Pool, with families coming from across the area – some even walking miles to get here – to enjoy the paddling pool and join in with our Coalfields Game On activities.

There’s a wonderful feel-good, family atmosphere here that goes far beyond any one activity or organisation.

This is a village shaped by its coal mining heritage, and that same spirit of community and looking out for one another remains strong today. Butcher’s Pool itself only survives and thrives because of the incredible voluntary effort behind it, ensuring another generation can enjoy this special place.

Some of the children we first worked with here at eight years old are now in their late teens. Our connection with Ynysybwl goes back many years too, thanks to the late Tony Burnell, who first introduced us to this wonderful village.

These are memories that will last long after the water polo game ends, the tennis reaches game, set and match 🎾, and the chime of the ice cream van fades into the distance. ☀️🍦

More than a pool. People, family, belonging and community. 💚

Ynysybwl Vision Butchers Pool Tennis Wales

11/08/2026

Today has been one of those days that makes you question why you volunteer.

Our volunteers give up their own time to keep Butchers Pool open, clean, safe and enjoyable for everyone. We don't get paid, and we don't expect praise, but we do expect to be treated with a basic level of courtesy and respect.

Unfortunately, one of our volunteers had a very upsetting experience today after repeatedly asking a child to stop cycling around the pool and play equipment for safety reasons. Instead of the request being respected, the volunteer was met with rudeness and hostility from a group of adults.

The rules at Butchers Pool are there for everyone's safety, not to spoil anyone's fun. When a volunteer asks someone to follow them, they are simply doing the job that helps keep the facility open and safe for the whole community.

Incidents like this have a real impact. Volunteers should never finish a shift feeling upset, intimidated or wondering whether it's worth coming back. Sadly, experiences like today's are becoming more common, and they make it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain the volunteers we rely on.

If we lose volunteers, we risk losing opening hours or, in the worst case, the ability to keep the pool open at all.

Please remember that every volunteer you see at Butchers Pool is giving up their own free time for the benefit of everyone else. All we ask in return is that our volunteers are treated with the same respect and courtesy that they show to everyone who visits.

Thank you to the many families who do support us, follow the rules and appreciate what our volunteers do. Your kindness and encouragement really does make a difference.

Please do not allow your child to ride their bicycle/scooter etc around the pool area.

06/08/2026

A huge **thank you** to **Laser Fire & Security** for their generous support in providing a mobile CCTV unit for Butchers Pool free of charge until the end of the summer holidays, while we work to source a more permanent solution.

This additional security will hopefully help reduce the vandalism and anti-social behaviour that the volunteers have had to deal with this year, allowing us to focus on keeping the pool and park clean, safe and enjoyable for everyone.

We are incredibly grateful for their kindness and community support. Please join us in thanking Laser Fire & Security for helping to protect this valuable community asset. 👏

Here at Laser Fire & Security, we as a security system installer near Cardiff, provide a wide range of fire protection and security services.

06/08/2026

Opening Days & Times

Every Day
11:00am – 5:00pm

Butchers Pool is maintained and operated entirely by volunteers.

We are only able to keep the paddling pool open thanks to the generous support we receive from Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, Ynysybwl & Coed-y-Cwm Community Council, donations from Typsy Challenge, and the generosity of our many supporters and patrons.

If you and your family enjoy using the paddling pool, we would be extremely grateful if you could make a donation. We have a donation bucket at the entrance, and every contribution, no matter how big or small, helps us cover the costs of maintaining and operating the pool.

Your generosity will help ensure that Butchers Pool remains open for everyone to enjoy for many years to come.

Thank you for your continued support.

04/08/2026

Out of respect for Joan and her family, the volunteers have replaced the vase and flowers at the oak tree.

We are also going to carefully repair Joan's personal note as best we can, laminate it, and return it to its rightful place.

We sincerely hope that this thoughtless and senseless act will not be repeated. Memorials are there to remember and honour loved ones, and we ask everyone to please respect any memorials placed in the park.

03/08/2026

It is with great sadness that we have to share another upsetting incident at Butchers Pool.

Today, one of our patrons' memorial was deliberately desecrated on the first anniversary of their passing. A simple memorial, placed at the foot of the big oak tree at the back of the park, consisted of a vase, flowers, and a personal handwritten note.

Sometime between 11:00am and approximately 2:00–3:00pm this afternoon, someone chose to smash the vase, throw the flowers aside, and tear up the personal note.

To say that we are shocked, devastated and angry is an understatement. Words really do fail us.

This wasn't just an act of vandalism. It was an act that has caused immense hurt and has deeply affected our volunteers, who work tirelessly to keep Butchers Pool a welcoming place for everyone.

If anyone was in the area during that time and saw anything that could help identify those responsible, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please get in touch with us in confidence.

We ask everyone to show respect for our park, for those who volunteer their time, and above all for the memory of those who are no longer with us.

30/07/2026

I called down to the pool this morning to stock up on some toilet supplies.

When we locked up last night, the park and pool were spotless.

This morning, at 7:45, I spent 15 minutes litter picking when I should have been on my way to work.

This simply isn't acceptable. As volunteers, it's just another incident this year that makes you question why we do it and what, if anything, we get in return for giving up our time.

We also learned today about the mindless vandalism at the Vision Hut.

What on earth is happening to our village? We all have a responsibility to look after our community. If this kind of behaviour continues, we'll risk losing the facilities and community spirit that so many volunteers work hard to maintain.