Great Gym, excellent staff and facilities. Has a coffee shop, just needs a kids pool and will be…read moreperfect.

As part of my regime to have a washboard stomach by summer 2012 I decided to try and suppress my…read moreick-reflex and give the local pool a try. I always enjoyed swimming as a kid and it's supposed to be fabulous for toning up so thought it'd be a great first stop on the road to my bikini body. Now, this is a tiny little pool run by Enfield Council and their site reliably informed me that 6:30am - 8:30am during the week was 'Adult Swim' time. In keeping with my 'healthy mind, healthy body' attitude I decided 6:30am would be a reasonable hour to swim on a Monday morning and I was right. It was me and a handful of 'older' ladies and gents. This is a nice way of me saying it was me and the OAPs. Not to be outdone by their age and disorientation I actually was confused the moment I walked in as I had taken my specs off in the changing room (obviously) and could barely see where there was space to swim. The lifeguard told me to go in the lane at the end which turned out was the fast lane...she clearly had higher expectations of my swimming ability than I! It's a relatively clean pool and I was glad to be allowed to wear flip-flops to leave by the side - helped to deter me from getting the 'icks'. I didn't see anything gross like floating plasters either, which is always a plus! How those old people managed to swim and gossip incessantly at that hour is beyond me but I felt awake and refreshed when I climbed out of the pool after a half hour or so of swimming, and knew an awful lot about Mavis, her daughter who was supposed to call and how her dodgy hip was doing. The changing facilities certainly need a bit of work. There was just one giant changing room with no working lock on it and most of the ladies had left their belongings in there, most probably Mavis and her crew. I opted to use a toilet cubicle which was grim but where else was I supposed to change? All in all a handy little pool in a handy location and considering it's open early-doors I'll definitely be popping by again soon - for £4 a swim you can't really expect much more!

I use regularly the swimming pool at Southgate leisure centre and today tried the Arnos Pool. I…read morecouldn't believe it. Aspects that definitely need improvement in Arnos pool: hygiene, changing rooms and reception. I'm not planning to return any time soon. You pay the same amount and southgate is so so much better. Also, in Arnos the lockers don't return the coins and we have to pay extra if wanting to use the hair dryer, or hand dryer as it is. Very difficult to park. Will only return after a good refurbishment.

Tucked away in a little corner near Alexandra Palace, Laboratory Spa & Health Club is not an easy…read morecommute if you don't live in the area - the closest tube station is Bounds Green on the Piccadilly line, and you have to take a bus and walk through a quiet residential area. Which sort of works to its favour, since it doesn't seem too well known outside of the locals. I visited with a friend after buying a voucher on Lastminute.com. The spa is very nice and the staff very welcoming. We were on the day spa package, which included a lunch. The manager showed us around the changing areas, the treatment areas and the restaurant. It's a well laid out spa, and has all the expected facilities - massage/treatment rooms, a steam room, a sauna, sun bed, swimming pool, jacuzzi and a gym. We made good use of the facilities, starting with lunch. I had the stir fried vegetables and chicken, with miso noodles - not sure this was a strong item on the lunch menu, as the miso paste wasn't mixed in very well and the dish was really salty. But the fruit juice smoothie of the day was amazing and made me feel super healthy - it was peach, mango, banana and honey - yum! My friend's lunch faired better with grilled halloumi and salad. The facilities are well kept and it all looks quite new. If you are a day spa guest, then there is a "dry room" that you can use too, where you can relax on a sun lounger and read magazines (or in our case, fall asleep... yes, it was all incredibly relaxing!). If it wasn't so difficult to get to, I would be back - but then, that's probably to its favour as you probably don't want to be inundated with people.

The Laboratory is a sophisticated an aesthetically pleasing gym that is spacious yet stocked with…read moreeverything you need. There is an underground swimming pool, top of the range cardio and resistance machines, exercise areas and studios for classes. With all top of the range gyms there are on-site therapy rooms for pampering sessions when you've finished your workout and the Lab is no different. The big plus with The Laboratory is the stunning gardens where (weather permitting) some of the classes can take place, or somewhere you can chill out with your drink from the juice bar.

Excellent swimming activity and tuition center for children and adults…read more If you want your children to learn to swim this is the place to bring them.

I am leaving David Lloyd Finchley after 18 months of membership. The classes have been excellent,…read moreand the Ygym has helped build a set of wonderful, in balance muscles. I am fitter than I have been for years. The reason for my departure is the recent transformation of a previously unisex, tranquil, shared area of the gym (a place of stretching, warm up and cool downs, yoga poses etc.) into a shadow boxing club for young men. This transformation has been led by one enthusiastic, ebullient gym-member and is spreading to his cronies. I spoke to the management about this user led reassignment of space. The management told me that there was no policy to prevent gym members from using an area of the gym for an activity that it was not designed for. Out of a total of 8 mats for stretching etc., 3 are now highly compromised. Clearly, the ebullient gym member has no understanding of boundaries and David Lloyd has no way of helping him understand about how to share space fairly. If you want your boundaries tresspassed upon, and to have that trespass legitimised by controlling authorities, join this flagship David Lloyd.

I like to thank the David Lloyd Finchley branch management for their brilliant work in resolving…read morethe problems with the car parking difficulties in the disabled and family area of the carpark. My thanks go to Gopal Gautama and Joe Welch (GM and deputy GM) for their strategic thinking and introducing the costly valet parking combined with the carpark control; as well as taking other crucial steps such as challenging the offenders and issuing penalty tickets by an outside contractor. I also like to thank the operational managers Livia Blanaru, Alex Huber-Gurry, Glenn Burdett, Harriet Drury and the members of staff at the reception Chloe Fearon and Tina Sinai for enforcing the policy. I have been a member since 2002 and seen many attempts fail in the past to resolve the persisting parking issue at our branch and in that context the management's policy has been incredibly successful. Well done. Dr Hassan Sobati

These guys are great! I have always wanted to learn how to swim since early childhood, but never…read morehad the courage. My mother made an appointment without me knowing and I just had to go and try it out. Just a week after I was as happy and free as a dolphin in the water and I could swim quite well. Really friendly instructors and very understandable and encouraging behaviour. Thank you guys!

Forgot I was allergic to water. The water burned. Not a pleasent experience. Accidentally swallowed…read moresome water. Am now patronised from ankle down.

Park Lane Leisure Centre is set between Muswell Hill and Crouch End Broadway, and offers a wide…read morerange of leisure facilities. They have a gym, and hold fitness classes of all types, I have a few friends that take the classes here, but have never taken any myself. My friends have been going for quite a while so they must be quite good. I do however go to park lane for other reasons. In London, you do not get many out door pools, probably due to our great climate. There are a couple that I know of, one being in Hampstead Heath, and the other at the Park Road Leisure Centre. On the weekends, especially during the summer holidays as a teenager, I was here all the time. It is a great place for youngsters to meet and socialize and get some exercise. On those sunny days it was great and was the highlight of my week. The outdoor pool is only open from may to September, and if it is raining during those months, they also have an indoor pool, so no need to worry.

I live a good swim. And here at the Kentish Town Pool I get to have a good swim in a beautiful…read moreenvironment. The main pool here is one of the Victorian-era swimming pools and it's really quite magnificent to swim in it...especially when at certain times of the day the sun hits the water just right. I use the Better Health App to sign up for a swim. I avoid the busy times - early mornings and evenings - and so most of the times I share the lane only with a few other folks.

A fabulous new gym at a price to…read more suit everyones pocket : love it!

Did you know London has ponds? Yeah, me either. The ponds (which are more like large lakes) are in…read moreLondon's North West Neighborhood, Hampstead. It's a bit away from the touristy parts of central London and that's the point! Swimming at the Hampstead Heath Ponds is one of the best things to do in London. I understand how cool it is to go to a famous city and see its top attractions. But what happens next? The best experiences I've had in a new city is doing normal things that locals do and that's exactly what Hampstead Heath's Ponds is like for a tourist - an insider's look into what Londoners do on a hot summer day. I know it's a hot girl summer (word to Meg) but in London, it's more like a wet girl summer, winter, fall, and spring. On the rare sunny days all the outdoor spaces, parks, rooftops, and pools are filled with Londoners desperately trying to enjoy every ounce of sun. If you're in London on a day like this, don't skip the ponds. Here's everything you need to know about visiting the Hampstead Heath Ponds: Get There Early The ponds open around sunrise but you won't need to be that early. On a hot day, it's best to arrive just before the afternoon. If you come later than 12 PM, you might not get in. The ponds themselves are large but the grassy area where you'll find sunbathers and beach bags are not. So to keep the area from being too crowded the lifeguards stop letting people in at a certain point. I recommend arriving between 10 - 11:30 AM. It's So Cheap The entry fee to get into the ponds is only 2 pounds. If you're a student, it's 1 pound. My friend and I couldn't believe how inexpensive it was. Visiting the ponds won't hurt your pockets. There are Three Different Ponds There's a men's, women's and a mixed pond. Don't ask me why - I really don't know but I feel like it's some old, outdated thing that has stuck around until the present day. If you identify as transgender, you can use whichever pond you'd like! We went to the mixed pond--mostly because it's the closest to the entrance and we're lazy. Pick your poison. Bring A Picnic I probably don't need to tell you this but pack snacks! There aren't any food stalls at the ponds to purchase snacks or drinks. You'll see that most people come with food and have some sort of picnic. It's a good idea to bring a blanket or beach towels too as the lounging area here is mostly grass. We opted for some fresh fruit and water but I whole picnic spread could be lovely by the water. Full blog review here: https://youmelunch.com/blog-native/2019/8/20/tips-you-need-to-know-before-visiting-hampstead-heath-ponds Keep up with my travel adventures: https://www.instagram.com/briyoumetravel/

This bathing pond is easily one of the nicest places you could possibly find yourself on a hot day…read morein London! The water was a little chilly when you first jump in (I think it was around 20 °C on Saturday) but my friend said this is warmer than the swimming in the serpentine in Hyde park. The surroundings are simply beautiful with gorgeous green trees, and plenty of room to swim no matter how many people decide to come for a dip. I should warn you that it gets EXTREMELY busy on hot days in the summer. We saved a space in the dappled light under the trees with a towel while we swam...and returned to find more people around us, right up to the edge of the towel space!! It makes London fields look spacious! BUT the people all around seem happy, friendly and chatty. Plus if you do need more space, you can relax outside in the park, and just drop into the pond area when you want to swim. Swimming here while chatting to my friend I honestly just felt happy to be alive and living in such a gorgeous city. This pond, is good for your heat levels...and excellent for your soul. Useful extra information: - It costs £2 - There was a sign to say no under 18s, but there were a few children there (maybe they sneaked in) - No Alcohol allowed (although plenty of people had sneaked in with a tipple in their bag.)