One of the most important buildings in Swindon’s heritage is the listed Victorian Health Hydro.

The Milton Road building was built by workers at the Great Western Railway site to provide them and their families with a place to wash, to enjoy swimming baths and to be able to see doctors and get medicines - it was held up by Aneurin Bevan as the model for the NHS.

Owned by Swindon Borough Council, the building is still a public swimming pool, operated by Better.

And the Victorian Turkish Baths, originally just used by men, is still going.

The borough council is spending more than £6m of government funding to give the building and facilities a revamp, including the Turkish Baths – and that will see it closed for the work.

As the Local Democracy Reporter I have reported extensively on the plans for refurbishment, and will report once they are completed.

But before it all changes, what is the Turkish Bath like now? I thought I’d find out.

Booking is simple enough, you do it on the health Hydro website and it costs £11.25 for 90 minutes, and you get a ticket with a bar code.

I would have liked some information on my emailed ticket because as a first-timer, there are some things it would have been useful to know.

First, there are small changing rooms for men and women separately within the Turkish Baths. It means you don’t have to get changed in the main ones and walk through the foyer in your bathers.

Because that’s another thing: it may have been originally for men, but the sauna and bath are now unisex, so you will need a swimming costume.

Before you get to the bath there’s a sort of anteroom, with loungers and lockers. THIS IS NOT A CHANGING ROOM. I cannot stress this enough.

The lockers take £1, which is returnable. Again, I didn’t know that, but just in case I’d bought a coffee nearby for the change.

In the complex itself there’s some communal showers, two steam room saunas (which I think are modern additions) and the original Victorian Turkish Baths.

After showering, as instructed, I tried the steam room first – opening the door and was unable to see anything – luckily it was empty as I stumbled about finding a seat on the marble benches. It looks like heating and steam are automatically controlled, so there’s no messing about with hot coals and ladles of water.

Which is fine, because it’s as hot and as steamy as anyone could possibly need.

After another quick shower, I gave the Turkish Bath a go. Clad in the original cream and green tiles, this is three rooms in an L-shape – the room with the heater in (I guess it would have originally been a big stove) is the hottest, obvs; the one next to it in a direct line is still pretty hot, the one on the 90 degree angle is warm, but not in line to the heater so is quite a bit cooler.

It’s a dry heat so you can see about you, you could even read if you felt like it.

The real glory is the plunge pool. It’s divided into two. A cool one and a warm one. I showered beforehand, and tried the cool one.

Briefly. Very briefly. And made a lot of noise as I did it. The word cool in this context means “a lot colder than you’d like when you’ve just come out of a hot room.” It’s invigorating and good for you - I’m told.

So then I had a go in the warm bath, sitting up to my neck in warm water on a bench that runs along the wall.

Which, every so often, emits bubbles.

And then, having got the hang of it, I went round again.

After 45 minutes I was done (I was then coming to work), but was actually genuinely relaxed. And invigorated. And I’d do it again.

The facilities will benefit from a bit of a facelift, but I trust the Victorian-ness of it all will be kept.

But now, it’s a lot of fun, if they get the refurb right, it’ll be glorious.