Aerial Fitness Studio in a School Gym From £27: Aerial Days

Aerial Days runs its adult aerial classes in the Top Gym of Brookfield Primary School on Croftdown Road, NW5 1HB, between Dartmouth Park and Highgate. You get in through the back gate on Croftdown Road by pressing buzzer number 2, then climb the stairs to a hall rigged with trapezes, ropes, hoops, silks and straps. A single 1.5-hour class costs £32, a 1.25-hour Wednesday class costs £27, and the 13-week autumn term runs until 12 December.

The company behind the classes, Aerial Days Limited, was incorporated in June 2016 according to Companies House. Its director and co-founder, Clare Anderson, is a circus trainer at the National Centre for Circus Arts and has specialised in aerial performance for more than 30 years. Her biography on the site says she choreographed the aerial work for the 2012 Olympic project Godiva Awakes and once worked as a rescue climber on the London Eye. Most of the other teachers are graduates of the National Centre too.

The gym holds six trapezes, five ropes, six hoops, eight silks and four sets of straps, with a rigging height of 4.5 metres. That is lower than a dedicated circus hall, which suits beginners. The site quotes Douglas Adams on its homepage, that flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss, and it aims to keep at least one youth space in every class for a student with fewer opportunities.

The class information page recommends starting on hammock or sling, trapeze or hoop before moving to silks or rope, because they let you rest your weight while you learn. The autumn timetable has three clear entry points. On Wednesdays from 6:30pm to 7:45pm, Julia teaches Hammock and Sling for absolute beginners, and from 7:45pm to 9pm she teaches Hoop for beginners.

On Saturdays from 9:30am to 11am, Genevieve teaches Trapeze for absolute beginners. Mondays from 7:15pm to 8:45pm bring Trapeze for beginners and improvers with Charlie, alongside Hoop improvers with Sam and an advanced silks and rope class. Thursday evenings from 6:45pm to 8:15pm are for improvers and intermediate students on trapeze, silks and hoop.

Wednesday is the busiest evening in the gym. Alongside the hammock and hoop classes, Angeliki teaches Silks for beginners and improvers from 6:30pm and Rope for beginners and improvers from 7:45pm, while Kat runs a general-level Straps class that needs some aerial experience and a Flexibility for Aerialists session. Practice time runs across the whole evening, from 6:30pm to 9pm.

Monday, Thursday and Saturday classes last 1.5 hours and cost £283 for the 13-week term or £32 as a single class. Wednesday classes last 1.25 hours and cost £250 for the term or £27 each. The Wednesday Flexibility for Aerialists class is cheaper, at £130 a term or £14 a session. The autumn term runs from 7 September to 12 December, with no classes from 26 to 31 October.

If you cannot commit to the same evening every week, the flexible passes help. Four 1.5-hour classes cost £110 and ten cost £250. For the shorter Wednesday classes, four cost £97 and ten cost £200, and a mixed pass of five of each costs £225. Current students can use Wednesday practice time for £10, others pay £15. An adult class gift voucher costs £30, and a two-class Introduction to Aerial voucher costs £50.

The FAQ asks for leggings or close-fitting tracksuit trousers that cover the backs of your knees, and a T-shirt or leotard long enough to cover your midriff. Thick socks, leg warmers or ankle straps protect your feet on rope and silks, and clothes without zips are preferred. Rings, watches and bracelets come off before class.

Term courses can be refunded up to eight days before the start of term. Cancel later than that and you lose half the fee, and once term starts the fee is not refundable. A no-show or cancellation less than 24 hours before a single class or pass booking counts as attended. Under-18s are not normally allowed in adult classes without a prior conversation. The venue is not wheelchair accessible, with many stairs and no lift, and it is a nut-free, dog-free building.

The site says Archway on the Northern line is an eight to ten minute walk, and Gospel Oak station is 15 to 20 minutes on foot. The C11 bus from Archway stops at Chester Road, by the Nisa Local shop, which is the closest stop to the gate. The school's What3Words address is privately.took.crib, useful in the dark on a winter evening.

Class enquiries go to info@aerialdays.com. The mobile number, 07341 855885, is only for when you cannot find the gate or the buzzer is not working, so do not use it for bookings.

Croftdown Road sits just below the Highgate hills, and the site itself uses Highgate Cemetery as a landmark for finding the school. The East Cemetery, with Karl Marx's tomb, is a fifteen-minute walk up Swain's Lane, and the West Cemetery's catacombs are visited on guided tours.

Next to the cemetery, Waterlow Park has ponds, terraced lawns and Lauderdale House at the top of the hill. In the other direction, Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath has one of the best free views over central London and is a good place to walk off a Saturday morning trapeze class.

Book a beginner slot on Wednesday or Saturday first, and buy a four-class flexible pass rather than a full term until you know which apparatus you like. Remember the half-term break, with no classes from 26 to 31 October, and that the autumn term ends on 12 December, when you plan your first visit.

Arrive a few minutes early to find the back gate, bring water, and wear layers, since the gym can be cool in winter. Ask the Karpo APP for a café or pub around Dartmouth Park for after class.