• By Sam Parton
• In Blog
• Mar 15, 2013

Review of Dulwich Leisure Centre by Openplay.co.uk

OpenPlay Rating of Dulwich Leisure Centre

Overall Condition   9/10
Availability     8/10
Price/Cost       7/10
Customer Service  9/10

Overall 82.5%

Dulwich Leisure Centre is operated by Fusion Lifestyle in behalf of Southwark Borough Council and is located in trendy East Dulwich, not a million miles away from Peckham Rye Common.

It is one of the only leisure centres in Dulwich and as it was recently refurbished, the facilities on offer are truly excellent. The refurbishment has created a huge open plan gym with a plethora of running machines, rowing machines, cross-trainers and a huge selection of free weights. We used the gym on pay as you go basis for around £10 which is not necessarily the cheapest gym in South London. Typical pay as you play rates for gyms are £5-10 so it is certainly on the upper end of that scale.

However, in Dulwich Leisure Centre's defense you really do get what you pay for. However if you plan to go more than three times a month, membership is certainly your best option (around £35/month). Aside from the gym facilities, we also road-tested a yoga class which is one of many Dulwich Leisure Centre classes on offer.This yoga class was extremely popular and in previous weeks had been fully booked (1pm every Sunday). It represented good value for money and was Hatha Yoga which tends to be a more relaxed version so if you want something more physically demanding it is probably worth checking out some of the other classes.

Parking near Dulwich Leisure Centre

Unfortunately Dulwich Leisure Centre does not have a car park for the general public. However it does have two disabled parking bays which are accessed from Crystal Palace Road. Otherwise there are usually plenty of spaces along Crystal Palace Road and there is no charge to park there.

Pubs near Dulwich Leisure Centre

There are plenty of places to head for a drink after your visit and East Dulwich has become a vibrant community in that regards. Our personal favourites are the East Dulwich Tavern on Lordship Lane, which is approximately five minutes' walk away. It has a particularly relaxed and fun atmosphere with regular film nights and a good selection of ales.

Another option is The Bishop East Dulwich which is a couple of minutes further away down Lordship Lane which is also highly regarded in the area. Alternatively or The Gowlett is the other direction towards Peckham Rye and has received good reviews amongst locals.

Dulwich Leisure Centre Booking

Booking Dulwich Leisure Centre must be carried out over the phone, particularly for any of the fitness classes which are all publicly available. Some classes such as yoga are very popular, even on weekends so you will need to book early to avoid disappointment as we tried a day before and found it was fully booked.

Transport Links near Dulwich Leisure Centre

The nearest mainline rail station is East Dulwich with regular trains to London Bridge and beyond. Trains can be fairly infrequent on weekends however.

Overall our rating of Dulwich Leisure Centre is very high, it has excellent customer service and a superb range of sports facilities.

For more information about the Fusion Dulwich Leisure Centre such as exact address details and booking information, take a look at their OpenPlay profile here.

By Sam Parton