Kickboxing Gym Near Me in Muswell Hill: MK4 in Ally Pally's Old Station

Muswell Hill Kickboxing trains once a week, on Wednesdays from 5.30pm to 7pm, inside a railway station that has not seen a train since 1954. The club, also called MK4 Gym, hires CUFOS at the top of The Avenue, London N10 2QE, in the shadow of Alexandra Palace's Great Hall. A session costs £15 paid on the day, and the autumn 2026 term runs until 9 December. If kickboxing gym near me brings up glossy chains, this is the small, cheap, community alternative.

CUFOS stands for Community Use For the Old Station. Its history page explains that the building was the terminus for trains running up to Alexandra Palace via Highgate and Muswell Hill, and the last train to Ally Pally ran on 3 July 1954. The station then lay unused for more than 30 years. When fire destroyed large sections of the Palace in 1980, the station escaped, although years of neglect had already turned it into a wreck.

Around 1984, ideas for the building included turning it back into a railway depot or opening a pub. A group of local residents won instead, with a plan for a cheap, volunteer-run community centre. Their licence was signed on 9 October 1987, and the Mayor of Haringey, Andreas Mikkides, officially opened CUFOS on 5 December 1987. It is now a registered charity, still run almost entirely by volunteers, and the kickboxing class is one of its regular hirers.

The club's headline is Muay Thai, kickboxing, K1 and MMA striking classes, and its own introduction calls Muay Thai kickboxing the ultimate striking martial art. In practice a Wednesday session follows a fixed shape: warm-up, stretching, shadow boxing, pad work, technique work with a partner, sparring or clinching for more advanced students, circuit training and a warm-down. Ninety minutes is longer than most gym classes, so the conditioning block arrives when your legs are already tired.

Classes are mixed age and ability from 14 upwards, and beginners, intermediate and advanced students train in the same room. The coaches are fully insured and DBS checked, and the club is a member of the British Martial Arts and Boxing Association. Because teenagers and adults share the session, expect technical, controlled partner work rather than hard sparring for newcomers, with clinch work saved for the experienced students.

The autumn 2026 term runs every Wednesday from 9 September to 9 December, with no classes during half term on 21 and 28 October. Saturday classes are not running this term. You can pay £15 per session on the day by cash or bank transfer, or pay £144 for the 12-week term at once a week. If you join mid-term, the block price is reduced to match the weeks left, which makes a November start reasonable.

There is no phone number on the website; booking is by email to muswellkickboxing@gmail.com or through the contact form, and the club warns that availability is limited. Email before your first Wednesday rather than just turning up, because a community hall has a fixed capacity and the class shares the building with other hirers. Mention your experience level so the coach can pair you sensibly.

All equipment is provided, which makes the first session easy: shorts, a t-shirt and water are enough. The club adds that buying your own gloves, hand wraps, shin pads, gum shield and groin guard is best if you keep training. Shin pads and a gum shield matter most once partner drills and clinching start, and shared gloves are never pleasant in a 90-minute session.

The honest verdict is that MK4 suits someone who wants one solid striking session a week at £15, close to home, without a membership contract. It does not suit anyone hoping to train three times a week: the twice-weekly term price is listed as not available this term, and the Saturday class is paused. If Wednesday at 5.30pm clashes with work, wait for the spring term listing rather than paying for a block you cannot attend.

CUFOS sits near the junction of The Avenue and Dukes Avenue, just before the entrance to the Laboratory Spa and Health Club, with the Great Hall of Alexandra Palace above it. Parking is free, with two spaces for users right in front of the building and street parking along The Avenue and Dukes Avenue. The nearest stations are Alexandra Palace on the main line and Bounds Green on the Piccadilly line.

From Wood Green, the W3 bus towards Finsbury Park stops at Alexandra Palace Ice Rink; walk through the park with the ice rink on your left, through the playground and onto The Avenue, then turn left. From Bounds Green, the 102 or 299 towards Muswell Hill lets you walk down Dukes Avenue to the very end, where CUFOS is straight ahead. Allow ten to twenty minutes on foot from those stops.

Alexandra Palace itself, on Alexandra Palace Way, London N22 7AY, is a two-minute walk uphill, and the terrace in front of the Palace is one of the best free viewpoints over London. On autumn Wednesdays the 5.30pm start means arriving around sunset, so walk up early and catch the city lights coming on before class. Afterwards, Muswell Hill Broadway is a short walk down Dukes Avenue for food.

The building itself is worth a look before you go in. CUFOS's larger room, the Booking Hall, measures about 30 by 32 feet with a ceiling over 12 feet high, and its two room names, Booking Hall and Waiting Room, still echo the station's working life. Few London fight classes take place where passengers once bought tickets to Ally Pally.

Venue: CUFOS (Community Use For the Old Station), top of The Avenue, London N10 2QE. Class: Wednesdays 5.30pm to 7pm, autumn 2026 term 9 September to 9 December, no classes 21 and 28 October; no Saturday class this term. Ages 14 and over, all levels. Price: £15 per session by cash or bank transfer, or £144 per 12-week term. Contact: muswellkickboxing@gmail.com. Equipment provided. Free parking; nearest stations Alexandra Palace and Bounds Green.