Sports and Activities
There
are a million and one sports and activities to try in
London, from strenuous pastimes such as rock-climbing
to kickboxing, to the more leisurely: rollerblading,
cycling, riding etc. As a tourist or short term
visitor, you're unlikely to try any of them.
The two
most popular, apart from cycling (which Britons
generally don't see as a sport, more a practical form
of transport, given London's transport problems} are
inline skating and ice skating. Ice skating is popular
in the winter months, outdoors at Broadgate, Somerset
House, The Tower, Marble Arch and other locations
(see below). We've included things like dancing
on our nightlife pages. As for the most passive
activities such watching a football or cricket match -
they form the backbone of English social life.
Activities usually fall into two groups - those
that involve alcohol and those that don't. The
English can't really handle alcohol and it can be an
intimidating experience being in the middle of a
drunken, violent crowd after a football match, though
statistically you're more likely to get hurt
ice-skating.
Active
Swimming outdoors: Serpentine Lido on the
Serpentine in Hyde Park, near the bridge, or
Hampstead Bathing Ponds, on the Heath are the two
best, though the latter is constantly under threat
from silly protectionist legislation. Some
individual ponds/times there can be gay pickup
joints - local knowledge essential. 'Oasis' at the
very eastern end of Shaftsbury Avenue has an
outdoor/indoor pool.
Indoors: The Central YMCA off Tottenham Court road
has a very large pool, and the Porchester Center, at
the top of Queensway is a popular spa with an indoor
pool. If you have club rights then the Landsdowne
(Berkeley Square) and RAC (Pall Mall) clubs have
excellent private pools.
Gymnasia/aerobics - Due to insurance
problems, visiting a gym in London can be a
nightmare as a compulsory, expensive, 'induction
session' is usually necessary. However, you could
probably pump iron entirely free by claiming to be
about to be relocated to London and taking advantage
of 'one day free trial pass' offers. Needless to say
these vary almost weekly. The big gyms are Soho
Gyms, Virgin, Fitness First and LA Fitness.
If you have a student card, or are an academic, then
try the London University Student's Union on Mallet
St, just behind Tottenham Court Road (Tube: Goodge
St). For aerobics, try the Jubilee Hall in Covent
Garden's Plaza (Tel: 0207 836 4835), the Queen
Mother Sports Centre at the back of Victoria Station
(Tel: 0207 630 5522), or the Pineapple Dance Studio
in Langley St , Covent Garden (tel: 0207 836 4004).
Rollerblading: There are very few good places
to do rollerblading, most of the parks ban it, the
best drag is in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens -
enter either via Hyde Park Corner for a fine long
carriage way beside the Serpentine, or via Queensway
Gate into Kensington Gardens, but watch out for the
markings - skating off the prescribed areas is
enforced with a fine (sometimes). A cavalcade
similar to the famous Parisien one happens
informally on Wednesday and Friday nights during the
summer months (and in winter too, check the website)
but does not have the support of local councils as
there is no profit to be made from it however we can
testify it is fun....
For everything there is to know about
blading/skating in London, including the Friday
Night Cavalcades, lessons and hire see
Cityskate's excellent website - skates on
Friday and Sunday, or the Wednesday
night skate the latter do the excellent
wednesday night roadskating lesson. A new company
doing hire and information is
Bananablade
If you've never done a skate before start on the
Sunday Stroll, easy, off-road. Then do the Wednesday
night skate or lesson (you can choose whether to do
the skate, which is slower than the Friday night
one, and has no music, or to go on a lesson on how
to do a road-skate- costs £5 and is excellent,
or a FREE beginners lesson), then do the Friday
night skate, which has the most street-cred, a good
music system (provided by a tricycle with BIG
speakers) and goes on to a pub afterwards (the
Victoria, just of Sussex Square - both Wednesday and
Friday nights - they do free sandwiches for skaters
also!).
Hire from: Queens Skate shop, 35 Queensway,
on the North Side of Kensington Gardens 0207 727
4669 (Tube: Queensway or Bayswater)
Slick Willies at the south side of Kensington
Gardens, 41 Kensington High Street, 0207 937 3824
(tube: Kensington High Street) see also Bananablade
above - more places on the Cityskate and Londonskate
websites - with some good special deals.
Ice Skating: Indoor:
Queens Ice bowl: 45m x 20m rink, somewhat pared-down
version of its former self, as economics meant that
gaming machines and a ten pin bowling alley were
bolted on to increase profits on this prime site.
However, the ice rink itself is partitioned off from
the noisy parts of the building. 17 Queensway,
Bayswater. tel: 0207 229 0172 Queensway (Central) or
Bayswater (Circle) tube.
Outdoor: Broadgate centre rink: open air,
small circular rink, good atmosphere. Above
Liverpool St Station, seasonal, tel: 0207 505 4068.
Open Mon-Fri: 12:00 - 14.30, 15.30 - 18:00 and on
Fridays 19:00 - 22:00, at weekends 11:00 - 13:00,
14:00 - 16:00, 17:00 - 18:30. Skate hire available.
Somerset House's huge front quad is frozen over at
Christmas (until 20th Jan) with a large rink and
cafes etc. See HERE. Booking usually
necessary and often very crowded. Also there are
large seasonal rinks at Marble Arch (above the tube
stop) which has the added advantage of the spectacle
of women in complete chadour ice skating.
Due to the success of these projects, there are 5
other ice rinks open (Greenwich Royal Naval College,
Canary Wharf, Hampton court, Hampstead Heath, and
even one in the moat of the Tower of London To book
there's a good link on the www.lastminute.com
website.
List of UK skating rinks HERE
Golf: London is ringed with golf courses,
and booking a game is relatively easy. For details,
and how to book a game go here
Karting: there are several kart tracks in
London, the minimum age varies at each one:
West London: Daytona Raceway, 155 Union Gate, Atlas
Road, Park Royal, W10. Minimum age: 8 years old.
Website
East London: F1 city karting, Gate 119, Connaught
Bridge, Royal Victoria Dock, E16
Website
South London: Playscape Pro Racing, 390 Streatham
High Road, SW16, Minimum age: 8 years old Website
Central London: Kings X raceway, York Way, Kings
Cross N1. Minimum age 18 years old. Tel:
0207-833-1000
Ten Pin Bowling: Queens Ice bowl: 17
Queensway, Bayswater. tel: 0207 229 0172 (see
skating, above) Website Also
Bloomsbury Lanes, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Place,
Camden, London, WC1B 4DA Website
Softball: Regent's park, several informal
games - see Time Out magazine for details.
Boating: on the Serpentine in Hyde Park, or
the Boating lake in Regent's park. Seasoned rowers
should try the clubs along the river in Putney.
Sailing/windsurfing: Queen Mary's Reservoir
is the best bet - a large expanse of water right
under Heathrow's flightpath, but raised up 50 feet
so it catches the winds. Tel: 01784 248881. Train
from Waterloo to Sunbury or Ashford (beware this is
NOT the Ashford in Kent) then bus or
taxi. Website
Tennis: most of the parks have tennis
grounds. Regent's Park's Inner Circle courts (0207
486 4216), Hyde park (see HERE for details) or
Battersea park (tel 0208 871 7542) are best. The
latter has 13 floodlit courts.
Squash/Badminton: Central YMCA 112 Gt
Russell St, off Tottenham Court Road is best and
easiest. Tube: Tottenham Court Road. Tel: 0207 343
1700.
Bicycling: Despite pledges from
government and Euro money, London is not really the
safest of places to cycle: cycling is not a big
sport in Britain and not enough of the movers and
shakers do it for any impetus to be behind campaigns
such as Sustrans. Cycle lanes
are intermittent, and the road surface generally not
good. Where there is a good surface, such as
in a Park, cycling is usually banned. That
said, if you are used to cycling in a big city, then
it's the fastest way to travel.
For hire try:
Go pedal or London Bicycle Tour Co who
are next to the Oxo Tower on the South Bank.
The London Cycling Campaign
maintains an up-to-date list of where to hire
bikes in London.
For more details and stuff try CTC which
is the national cycling organisation who can help
with anything bike .
Polo: The British brought back this game from
their time in India, codified it, and re-exported it
as a game for the rich. However in London you can
learn or actually play with little experience at
Ascot. Courses at weekends mostly. Website
Riding: Riding in Hyde Park on Rotton Row is
a special, though expensive, treat - if you want to
do this then dress up (it's not compulsory, but adds
to the fun). Hyde Park Stables (0207 723
2813) or Ross Nye Stables (0207 262 3791), both in
Bathhurst Mews, just north of the park are the
places to go. Horse Riding
Running: the Serpentine Running Club in Hyde
Park welcomes visitors Website You might also wand to
look at "The British Golden Jubilee 10K
open Road Race" - which is an annual run that
goes past the main tourist monuments...
Jogging: any of the parks or along the South
bank of the Thames (as far as Greenwich is possible)
or North Bank, out to Canary Wharf.
Passive
The English invented sport, even the French admit
that (see Le Guide Routard). Football,
Cricket, Rugby, Tennis, boxing, even downhill
skiing, all had their origins here. Then other
people learned how to play and beat us at our own
game. Thankfully the English still believe in
sportsmanship ("It's not cricket", meaning 'it's not
the done thing' is still a common expression) and
the importance of taking part, which for the past
few years is all our international teams have
managed.
Soccer: The England team may lose out to
small African countries, but its clubs are still
amongst the best: there are more Manchester
United supporters in Africa than there are in
England. Most Brits watch the games on television -
look out for pubs advertising large-screen
transmission - a good site to find them is here.
It's also useful for watching your home team while
you're away.
If you want to experience the game live at its best we
suggest Chelsea (in Chelsea) or
Arsenal
(in Highbury) - both are top rate clubs, though
ticket prices can be high, and sell out very
quickly, many local fans don't manage to get
tickets. Buy in advance even for smaller clubs,
especially when they are playing the bigger ones...
not so many star players but good games and cheaper
and more available seat prices. American visitors
not familiar with football have told us that matches
at lesser clubs are really cool even if they have no
'names'. We are endebted to Andrew Hewitt for
information about small clubs - his recommendations:
QPR (Queens Park Rangers - like many clubs
their name reflects their old location) are in White
City, just behind the BBC Television centre and
close to the tube. They're newly promoted so attendance is usually good. On match nights just follow the
crowds.
CHARLTON very friendly and family-oriented
club - good value tickets, actually has creche
facilities (!) Trains from Charing Cross or London
Bridge, ground is very near the station (Nb Charlton
is quite hilly) Website
Cricket - at the
MCC or the Oval. This is the most
passive of spectator sports as a game can go on for
as long as five days, and whole mornings can pass
when nothing seems to happen. People will cheer when nothing discernable has occurred. The commentators are always sent cakes by lady fans and spend their afternoons discussing it on radio. Best go for a
one-day test and see England get beaten by one of
its small former colonies.
Cricket in UK Website
Rugby: Twickenham. - more genteel than
football, much more skillful than American Football
- derived from a famous cheat at Rugby School. Rugby Website
Tennis: Wimbledon, during the season. Website.
Rowing: Henley, during the season. Website
Polo: on Sunday afternoons you can watch this
game of the rich at Ham Polo club. Website .
Racing, horses: Windsor, Epsom
or Kempton Park are the most
easily accessible by public transport, special train
services are laid on for each meeting.
Racing, dogs: Only Wimbledon now remains of London's erstwhile vibrant dog racing scene. Despite attempts to talk up the sport it remains at heart the sport of working class men in tweed caps. If you want to know all about the sport read 'The Dogs' by Laura Thomson. It's actually a good read even if you're from Korea and prefer your dogs on a plate. website
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