Having walked passed the gates to York Hall I was pleased to have a good reason to enter through…read morethe boxing entrance tonight - my first ever Book Slam, and what an amazing experience it was. Not quite sure where they hide the swimming pool mentioned by so many other reviewers as the main space is dedicated to boxing. Tonight's event made the most of it with a number of boxing-related performances. Once we found a seat at this sold out event, we joined the food queue. Big disappointment as they had stopped serving and we missed out on jerk chicken and lamb stew. Unfortunately, the promise of taking orders for the interval turned out to be an empty one ... Joined the drinks queue instead and enjoyed a liquid dinner of cheap wine - from tiny bottles - they had run out of full sized ones ... classy drinkers these book reading folk! Somehow this slight sense of chaos went well with the surroundings which reminded us of better times long gone. It was a magical evening alround.

I got to York Hall to swim, having found that it's run by the same people as manage Ironmonger Row…read moreBaths so I'm automatically a member of both centres as well as loads of others, which is awesome. Compared to shiny new refurbished Ironmonger, York Hall is a bit grotty. The changing rooms look fairly dirty (bring flip flops!) and your 20p for the locker is not returned. Also it's 20p for a hairdryer! I also didn't really like that there were fairly old boys getting changed in there with their mums. I'm not particularly precious about that kind of stuff in general, but it made me feel a bit uncomfortable. The pool itself is huge and the medium lane is 3 lane widths which means you have an overtaking lane. I thought this would make my swim a lot easier than at Ironmonger where there's a lot of traffic but you tend to get people randomly floating about which messes the whole thing up. I don't understand why (a) they don't figure out they should just go to the giant designated slow lane and (b) why the staff don't say anything. Stressful. Overall though it's a very good pool and as it's super convenient to me I'll keep going. The whole historic/boxing side is really cool, too!

A sports facility with real grass pitches and artificial surfaces for hire along with an indoor…read morespace that can be hired to host birthday parties, wedding receptions etc etc, you get the picture. Many years ago this used to be a privately owned sports ground that in recent years has changed ownership. Now part of the St.Dunstans school, which is not to far away, which has invested money into the site. I believe it has four 3G pitches, a couple of grass pitches along with a cricket wicket. Hockey can also be played on one of the artificial surfaces. The building itself has been improved since I was last here, no bad thing, in order to cater for people who want to hire the venue for their special day/event. The price will depend upon how much space you want, the staff were friendly enough and allowed us to try out our vide on their equipment prior to the surprise birthday party. All in all a good venue that can accommodate many different events.

Despite its rather grim exterior this is a great leisure centre. During half term they run kids…read moresports experience days for £7 per child. They get to try out all sorts of sports including trampolining and ice skating. Great value and great fun. Large gym and lots of classes perfect venue for keeping fit whether you are an adult or child!

"Better" has definitely made Sobell worse by canceling Zumba on Mondays with Topaz, despite…read morepetitioning by the class members to keep it going. I sent a letter to customer service which was ignored and unanswered. Additionally, they keep sneakily raising fees by changing names of classes ("Zumba" became "Aerobic Dance" and suddenly it cost more.) Not cool, Better, not cool.

Seven Islands Leisure Centre is a great option if you are looking to escape those pretentious type…read moregyms where you feel you have to go in and look amazing whilst working out! I am a regular here and have to say am very happy. I pay around £46 per month for full membership and am not tied to any contract and also didn't incur any admin charges which makes for quite good value! The gym offers a great selection of classes (my favourite is the Wednesday evening dance aerobics) which are all also open to non members at a price per class fee. The gym itself is ample - you sometimes struggle to get on the cross trainers at peak times but this is generally the case with most gyms. The pool is great and the centre also provides great swimming classes for children. Be warned though, there is no sleek decor or anything ultra modern about this gym (e.g. they are yet to install GHD's in the changing rooms!). It does what it says on the tin and that is just fine for me!

My partner and I pay a total of £75 per month to use all the facilities at Seven Islands including…read more5 other locations. Seriously. You're not going to get that anywhere in London and probably not anywhere in the G7 countries. That's a seriously good value for a pretty darn good neighborhood. There's an air-conditioned exercise studio and the classes are quite good. They also have a small running club and other common sport interest groups. The weight training room is very well equipped and has been recently refurbished using a £1mn investment. There's a water fountain in between the cardiovascular area and the weight training room. The locker room could use a scrub, but all functional. A refundable £1 to use a locker. There's a 33m swimming pool with a shallow and a deep end, and while I don't swim, everyone seems rather happy splashing around. 1 on 1 instruction is also available. Overall, seriously good value for money.

Aquaterra is a not for profit company that's commissioned by Islington council to provide leisure…read moreservices to the borough. They have quite a few places all over islington and my nearest is Archway leisure. Members can also use facilities from other councils at a discounted rate. I've been a member with this group for around 18 months and very happy indeed. Its not luxury, occasionally the showers are cold and there is a distinct lack of polish but it does the job. It costs me a mere £250 a year for unlimited swimming and off peak gym plus discounts on a whole range of things including climbing and squash. The main reason I went with these guys is that in most of their locations they have full size pools with lane swimming, even at the leisure centre round the corner from me and next to Archway Underground; albeit with restricted hours. The gym is as good as any chain and the trainers dont bug you for extra business every few mins unlike the more commercial gyms. The quality of the classes are excellent and the trainers great. I never feel that I'm just a customer, there just to be sold more overpriced stuff. Although its basic people from all walks of life come from doctors, accountants, tube drivers, students, office men or housewives, something thats really refreshing having used corporate gyms! The place is as clean as anywhere (The council places have to be especially stringent with health and safety standards) though I have to admit one has to arrive twenty mins after the kids session ends! On top of that there is an iphone app called "splashpath" that connects to the pool's timetable and tells you when they are open with the sessions they are doing (they change in school holidays) letting you plan and log your swims. So, for the amount you pay, the range of activities, the way you're treated and the convenience it gets five stars. I'd expect more in terms of "luxury" if I was paying the industry average (more than double) but I'm not and I get to swim! This place is officially awesome!

We got invited to a swimming birthday party here. Having never been here before we turned up open…read moreminded and hoped for a good time. unfortunately it turned out to be a dire experience. As you would expect from a leisure centre when you enter the building you have to check in at the reception. We politely waited to be served and eventually had to ask if we could enter as being polite was clearly getting us nowhere. The miserable, uninterested and unprofessional tone that we were met with pretty much summed up all of the staff that I came across. The decor was a little shabby and run down but nothing drastic. My main issues are with the staff. There's no dedicated car park but there is a multi story car park within walking distance. Believe me when I say I'm really not a complainer. I'll turn the other cheek and ignore shoddy service more than most people I know. But this leisure centre was something else. I can tell you now, I'll never set foot in this building again.

Every Sunday, from 16-18 I'm here doing roller derby. I…read moredon't know much about the rest of the building but I am well pleased with the sports hall we train in. I'm gonna copy paste some of the activities they offer: (My league has a contract with these guys and they rent out half of the sports hall for us.) Badminton, children's Birthday Parties, dance Classes, group exercise classes, gym and weights, indoor 5-a-side football, indoor basketball, indoor cycling, indoor netball, indoor volleyball, jubilee Park 9 hole golf course, no Strings, Badminton, personal Training, pilates, pool based classes, primetime activities, school holiday activities, softplay, swim School, swimFit, swimming, swimming lessons for adults, yoga, zumba classes etc. It also has a cafe- with yummy slushies; a creche and....a fairly big adventure playground for kids. The water in the drinking fountains is cold and crisp, they have some sofas in the hallways -so you can either sleep or take a breather while watching people swim downstairs in the swimming pool. The toilets are clean but a bit smelly...and the changing rooms are big and spacious. Lots of mirrors and blow dryers. The staff is nice and friendly. They get our hall ready always in time and and they are prepared when it comes to first aid. So if you're in the neighbourhood and fancy playing some indoor badminton, I suggest give it a try.

The David weir centre is great gym to go to if you are on a budget, it's not like your David lloyds…read moreor virgin gyms where equipment is being updated every 6 months, however they do have suffice workout equipment and adequate room for stretching and putting exercise steps/balls out! As this is more than a gym because there are a lot of athletics that train here there is a running track, and high jump inside the sports hall and outside, a additional separate weights room and a long jump area inside the centre, there is a dance studio upstairs where most of their exercise classes are held which ranges from body pump to Zumba to yoga! There's a class for everyone at what ever exercise level you are! The gym staff are very helpful! If there was an award for the top members of staff, this would go to Craig! He introduces himself to new members , he creates exercise plans for you and advises best ways to take your training further, and he will follow up with you to see if you need any additional help or just additional motivation! The gym has a lot if potential of updating the changing rooms and updating the air con machine but as I said before it does have everything you need to have a good training session. There is also a cafe upstairs and a crèche / kids playing area, and they do cater for birthday parties !

The name of this has actually changed to David Weir. It has…read morea huge outside running track with a section for long jump and high jump, regularly used by GB athletics. It also has an indoor runnin track, with indoor long jump and high jump facilities. There is a exercise room with machines and weight and a seperate free weights room. They also have toddler time full of under 5 toys and apparatus aswell as a play barn, great for birthday parties with food provided by the cafe upstairs or you can bring your own.

Treetops is one of the best soft play places I've see. I'm fortunate to live nearby. My child…read moreloves it. The prices are reasonable for the soft play and the snack bar as well. The only negatives are that they don't always enforce the no camera rule and it can sometimes get really crowded. Still five stars however.

I kinda wish this were my council community center…read more Friendly staff, and they didn't charge me a deposit to rent a badminton racket when I realised I had shown up with no cash. Lockers are unlocked by a token you get from the front desk, and this frees a key-wristband that you can keep with you while you sweat off some of that Sunday roast. Clean locker room, massive facilities for football, gymnastics, badminton, etc, I'll definitely be back! Close to buses and the Tube as well.