How can you achieve fitness and health in the middle of The City?

We live in age where keeping fit and taking charge of your health is on the cover of every magazine, spoken about by every celebrity and Instagram influencer, the general interest and need to have the amenities at your fingertips for everyday life is becoming more and more necessary. If you’re looking to make the move The City or indeed the surrounding area of Tower Bridge and London Bridge, there are endless options to peak everyone’s interests, from beautiful parks, tennis courts available to rent for a knock around and some outstanding gyms with full spas and pools all within a stone’s throw.

If you live in Shad Thames, you’ll know of the iconic bright blue tiled buildings that are ‘The Circle’; set on Queen Elizabeth Street in the heart of the Shad Thames area this is an ideal space for a luxurious gym and spa. Developed as flats, part of the ground floor is a stunning privately owned gym. The gym is not exclusively for residents so don’t worry you can still join. For single membership prices start at £95 but they offer £950 annual membership, so you’ll be getting two months totally free. The facilities are high quality with everything and more; you have full access to a stunning pool, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, gym, an extensive range of classes (included in your membership), ladies night and wellness and spa offers. Ladies night is one of the truly unique things about this gym, every last Friday of the month between 7-11 the gym is women only. It’s the perfect place to unwind, try that new weightlifting class that you were too shy to join before, or if you simply want a massage and spa treatments to relax from that stressful week at work then this really is the gym for you! And you don’t even have to be a member to enjoy ladies night, for £50 you can turn up and pay on the door and reap the benefits of ladies night at The Circle Gym and Spa.

If you’re looking for the most top end, swanky, exclusive gym in the area then ‘Third Space Tower Bridge’ is your dream. Memberships start at £160 per month so you better make the most of it, but rest assured this is the best possible place to do just that. Although a chain of gyms, they are only in the most exclusive areas in London, so you really know you’re getting top quality on all the facilities and award-winning classes; with a 28,000sq ft gym floor space so you’ll never be pushed for space or stuck waiting to use the machines. Other stella amenities include their 15m sprint track, 3 lane swimming pool with Iroko panelling, a cycle studio decked out with watt bikes and Ic7 bikes with high tech performance feedback as well as a hot yoga studio with fragrant juniper logs and anti-bacterial technology. One of the truly unique things about this gym is that with your membership you receive access to an app where you can join all the classes at the click of a button or alternatively, they have a YouTube channel where you can trial the classes before you buy into the full experience; what’s more there’s no joining fee and hidden costs.

If the gym really isn’t your thing and you’d rather a leisurely stroll around the local park, then there are plenty of those about in the city too. Southwark Park is a short walk from London Bridge and Shad Thames and in 2001, the park underwent a major refurbishment with £2.5m from the Heritage Lottery Funds and so it’s in stunning order. Along with the refurbishment a Café, serving hot and cold food has been installed, along with an information centre and toilet access has been put in place; if you want to do more than stroll and grab a coffee then there is also Sports facilities such as Southwark Athletics Centre, a bowling green (open from April to September, football pitches (August to March – booking required) and Tennis courts (booking required).

THIS SMALL POCKET OF LONDON REALLY DOES HAVE EVERYTHING ONE NEEDS TO LEAD ONE OF THE FULLEST LIVES IN THE CENTRE OF EUROPE’S LARGEST CITY. FROM BEAUTIFUL RIVERSIDE WAREHOUSE APARTMENTS, WONDERFUL WEEKEND FOOD MARKETS, HISTORICAL LANDMARKS FILTERING OUT FROM THE SQUARE MILE AND A SHORT WALK INTO THE CITY, THE AREA OF SHAD THAMES AND TOWER BRIDGE IS REALLY ONE OF THE PRIME PLACES TO LIVE NOW.