£12 Aerial Fitness Studio Taster: My Aerial Home Sydenham

My Aerial Home is a full-time aerial school in Unit A2 of Bell Green Retail Park, Lower Sydenham, SE26 4PR, and its cheapest way in is the Tuesday Try-out: a one-hour beginner taster for new students that costs £12, including VAT. The adult session runs from 19:45 to 20:45 with teacher Daisy Horan. After that, regular classes on trapeze, silks, hoop, rope and straps cost £32.50 for a single class pass, with six-week and twelve-class passes that bring the price down.

The school's About page tells the story plainly. Amanda Miles founded My Aerial Home in Sydenham in 2009, starting with three borrowed trapezes in a local school hall. In 2015 it moved into a bespoke facility, and today the school is open full time, with classes for children from the age of two up to adults and a three-month professional course that runs from Monday to Thursday.

Finding it is part of the charm. The studio sits in an ordinary retail park, and the site's own directions say that if you are looking at B&Q, the school is around the corner to the right, past Halfords. Inside, the space is rigged for aerial work rather than shopping. The school says it has been responsible for over 20 new aerial schools worldwide, and its sister company, Air Dance Productions, places performers on cruise ships including Arvia and Queen Anne.

Monday evenings carry a beginner-friendly Trapeze All Levels class with Amanda Miles from 18:00 to 19:15, followed by Rope All Levels with Sally White from 19:15 to 20:30. Tuesday has Trapeze and Silks for beginners from 18:30 to 19:45, then Silks Advanced and the Try-out. On Wednesday, Erin Gavagan teaches Hoop All Levels at 18:45, which is also teen friendly, and Sally White teaches Straps All Levels at 20:00.

Thursday adds a daytime Hoop class from November, from 10:30 to 11:30, and Trapeze Intermediate in the evening. Saturday morning is the busiest slot for adults, with Silks, Trapeze and beginner-friendly Hoop all running from 10:00 to 11:15. Sunday is given over to children's classes and parties. There is also a Shiny Pole programme on Monday evenings, priced separately from the aerial classes.

The October half-term brings two workshop afternoons, on 27 and 28 October from 15:00 to 17:00, at £40 per session or £70 for both. They use apparatus that rarely appears on the weekly timetable, including flying trapeze, sling, chandelier, trapangle, tippy hoop and Spanish web, so they are worth a look once you have a term behind you.

Beyond the £12 Try-out and the £32.50 single class, the 6 Class Pass costs £150 and covers six consecutive weeks of the same class at the same time. The 6 Class Pass Flexi, at £180, lets you mix any regular adult classes over 12 weeks. The 12 Class Pass is £250, and the 12 Class Pass Flexi is £300. Unused passes expire after 180 days.

Pole classes are £25 each or £120 for six. A one-to-one private lesson is £36 for half an hour or £72 for an hour, while two students sharing a teacher pay £50 for half an hour or £100 for an hour. Self-practice sessions of two hours cost £15, and the Open Training slots on the timetable require an induction certificate first.

Classes are booked online, and the deadlines are strict. For Monday to Thursday classes you need to book by 10am on the day, and for Saturday classes by 16:30 on Friday. The school has what it calls a no refund, no transfer, no do over policy, so choose your slot carefully. Private sessions need at least three working days' notice to cancel.

Every class includes a 15-minute led warm-up and a 15-minute led stretch and cool-down. If you miss the warm-up you must do your own before joining, and anyone more than 15 minutes late may be turned away. Wear clean, close-fitting training clothes, remove all jewellery and piercings, keep outdoor shoes out of the training area, and put your phone away during class. Adult Try-outs are for ages 12 and up.

The school lists Lower Sydenham, Forest Hill and Sydenham as its nearest train stations. Lower Sydenham is the closest walk, on the line from London Bridge and Cannon Street, while Forest Hill and Sydenham are on the London Overground. Buses 181, 194, 202, 352, 356 and 450 all serve Bell Green, and the B&Q car park offers three hours of free parking.

The school publishes a class timetable rather than fixed opening hours, so arrive ten minutes before your class to change and find the right space.

Forest Hill is the place to go for a few hours before a Saturday class. The Horniman Museum and Gardens has an aquarium, a natural history gallery with its overstuffed walrus, and a hilltop garden with views towards central London. It is a short train or bus ride from Bell Green.

For something greener, Sydenham Hill Wood is one of the largest remaining fragments of the old Great North Wood, with paths past an abandoned railway tunnel. West of the studio, Crystal Palace Park has the Victorian dinosaur sculptures by the lake, built in the 1850s and still the most unusual thing to stretch your legs beside after a morning on the trapeze.

Start with the Tuesday Try-out, then move to a beginner-friendly trapeze class, which is the apparatus the school was founded on. If Saturday morning suits you better, book by Friday afternoon. Wear leggings that cover the backs of your knees, and expect your hands to feel tender for a day or two after your first silks or rope class.

Bring water and a towel, take rings off before you leave home, and leave time to find the entrance behind the retail park on your first visit. If you want food nearby afterwards, ask the Karpo APP for cafés around Sydenham and Forest Hill.