Aerial Fitness Studio Hoop Class From £9: Jacksons Lane

Jacksons Lane, at 269A Archway Road in Highgate, is where north London beginners can try aerial hoop for as little as £9. The arts centre sits directly opposite Highgate tube station, and every Sunday at 2:15pm its Studio 4 hosts a 75-minute class called Aerial Hoop for Absolute Beginners. Only four students are admitted each week, the hoops are lowered to whatever height each person needs, and the fee is pay what you can, with every penny going to the Jacksons Lane charity. If you have been looking for an aerial fitness studio that does not ask you to commit to a term or a membership first, this is one of the gentlest ways in that London currently offers.

The building came first. It opened in 1905 as the Highgate Wesleyan Methodist Church, designed in an early Gothic style by W.H. Boney of Highgate, and its red brick and pointed windows still dominate this stretch of Archway Road. In 1975 it reopened as Jacksons Lane, a social and cultural hub for north London, and the centre says circus was part of the programme right from those earliest days. The building later received a Grade II listing, and Archway Road itself was made a preservation area.

That history matters for an aerial class, because a former chapel has the ceiling height that rigging needs. A major redevelopment began in November 2020 and finished in March 2022, led by the architects Citizen's Design Bureau, and the studios that came out of it are where today's classes hang their equipment. The centre has a long record of nurturing performers: it says Eddie Izzard began his comedy career with its support, and companies such as Complicite, The Mighty Boosh and Frantic Assembly developed work here. A Sunday hoop session is a small thing by comparison, but it happens in a room with real circus pedigree.

Aerial hoop, sometimes called lyra, is a steel ring hung from a single point. Compared with silks, it gives a nervous beginner something solid to hold from the first minute, which is why it often suits people who have never been off the ground. The class page sets out the syllabus plainly: beginner mounts and dismounts, shapes, and transitions. In practice that means learning how to get into the hoop safely, how to sit and hang in a few basic positions, and how to move from one position to the next without dropping out of it.

The teacher is Arianna, described by Jacksons Lane as a UK-certified Aerial Hoop Beginners instructor who has been training, performing and competing on the apparatus for over six years. She runs the class as an independent instructor who hires the studio, so bookings go through her own Bookwhen page rather than the main box office. The cap of four students is the detail that sets this class apart. With so few people per session, you get frequent turns, close spotting and corrections aimed at your own body rather than general cues shouted across a room.

Because the hoops can be fully regulated in height, nobody has to jump or climb to reach them. Shorter students and anyone with limited upper-body strength can start with the ring close to the floor and raise it as confidence grows. Expect your hands, forearms and the backs of your knees to feel the session the next day; that is normal for a first hoop class and fades after a few weeks of practice.

Pricing is set up as a flexible pay-what-you-can scheme with three options. The Kind Pass costs £9, the Hero pass costs £15 and the Superstar pass costs £21. All three buy exactly the same 75-minute class; the difference is how much you choose to give, and all proceeds go to the Jacksons Lane charity, registered number 1119318. There is no separate taster price, no term fee and no membership, so the £9 option effectively works as the concession rate for students or anyone on a tight budget.

There is also no fixed term. The class runs as a rolling weekly session listed from 6 June to 29 November 2026, and you book each Sunday on its own. That flexibility has a catch: with four places, dates fill quickly, and the session on Sunday 25 October was already showing as fully booked.

The class is open to anyone aged 18 and over, and the page is clear that no particular background is required. You are asked to tell the instructor about any health conditions that could affect your physical performance before you start. Wear fitted, stretchy clothing such as leggings, and take off all jewellery, since rings and bracelets can scratch the hoop or catch on it. The page also suggests bringing a yoga mat if you have one.

Long sleeves or leggings that cover the backs of the knees help on a first visit, because knee hangs are one of the early positions and bare skin grips and rubs against steel. No cancellation policy is published for this class, so message the teacher directly if your plans change; with only four places, freeing yours lets someone on the waitlist take it. If you want to go further than a weekly beginner slot, Jacksons Lane also lists private aerial sessions on Thursdays from 7pm to 8pm in Studio 3, with prices available on enquiry.

Highgate station on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line is directly across the road, which makes this one of the easiest aerial classes in London to reach by tube. Highgate station does not have step-free access, and the centre suggests Finchley Central on the Northern line or Upper Holloway on the Overground as step-free alternatives. The 43, 134 and 234 buses all stop directly outside the venue. Arrive ten minutes early so you have time to change and warm up your wrists and shoulders before the hoop comes down.

The building is usually busy on a Sunday afternoon, with children's circus classes and other courses running alongside, so check in at reception and follow signs to Studio 4. Café Texture, the independent café inside the centre, is a good place to wait before class or to sit with a drink afterwards while your grip recovers.

Turn the session into an afternoon out. Highgate Wood is a short walk north along Archway Road, an ancient woodland with oak and hornbeam, wide paths and a café in the middle, which makes it a calm place to stretch your legs after hanging from a ring. Queen's Wood sits on the other side of Muswell Hill Road and feels wilder, with steep paths and a community café near its entrance.

Walk south-west instead and you climb to Highgate Village, with its Georgian houses, independent shops and old pubs around Pond Square. From there it is a short walk down Swain's Lane to Highgate Cemetery and on to Waterlow Park, whose terraced lawns give some of the best views over central London. Hampstead Heath is a little further west if you still have energy to spare.

Address: Jacksons Lane, 269A Archway Road, Highgate, London N6 5AA. Class: Aerial Hoop for Absolute Beginners, Sundays at 2:15pm, 75 minutes, Studio 4, maximum four students. Price: pay what you can at £9, £15 or £21 per class, booked through Bookwhen. Age: 18 and over. Getting there: Highgate station on the Northern line is opposite, and buses 43, 134 and 234 stop outside.

This class is built for people taking their very first steps on a hoop. If you already have the basics and want weekly progression across silks, trapeze and hoop, a dedicated circus school with structured courses will suit you better than a single Sunday slot. But for a first try at an aerial fitness studio, a small group, a patient teacher and a price you set yourself are hard to beat, and the Victorian chapel setting gives the whole thing a sense of occasion.