Skip to content
Sign in

Gyms in Ashford

Kent's biggest district by area, and one of its fastest-growing, with the Stour Centre by the station and an athletics track at Willesborough. Here's where to train in Ashford, and who to train with.

Gyms and venues
77
Join Gymist freeFind a training buddy

Showing 1–24 of 77 gyms

Places in Ashford

From the retail parks of Bybrook to the market town of Tenterden.

Training in Ashford

A fast-growing railway town with room to get more active.

Ashford is growing fast. The borough's population rose 12.5% between the 2011 and 2021 Censuses, to around 132,700, and its median age is 41. It is also the largest district in Kent by area, stretching from the Kent Downs at Wye to Tenterden on the edge of the Weald. In Sport England's Active Lives survey for Nov 2024–25, 59.5% of adults were active for 150 minutes or more a week, below the South East's 67.4%.

Freedom Leisure runs the borough's public centres for Ashford Borough Council: the Stour Centre by Ashford International, with a pool, gym, Clip 'n Climb and an obstacle course; Julie Rose Stadium at Willesborough, with an athletics track and gym; and Tenterden Leisure Centre, with a 25 m pool. Around them are a Muscle Hut, two CrossFit boxes, three jiu-jitsu academies and Square One's indoor padel courts.

Plenty of people in a growing town are still looking for someone to train with. Gymist is how you find them.

Where to train in Ashford

The borough's Freedom Leisure centres first, then the strength gyms, CrossFit boxes, jiu-jitsu academies and padel courts.

Public leisure centres (Freedom Leisure)

Strength gyms, CrossFit and chains

Jiu-jitsu, MMA and boxing

Padel and sports clubs

Find a training buddy in Ashford

A lane partner at the Stour Centre, someone to share the WOD at CrossFit Great Stour, a rolling partner for jiu-jitsu: find people near you who train when you do.

Find a buddy

Start an Ashford training group

A Saturday run from Victoria Park along the Green Corridor, a track session at Julie Rose Stadium, a weekend walk on the North Downs Way from Wye: set it up in minutes and we'll help people nearby find it.

Start a group

Train outdoors

Free places to train in Ashford.

  • Victoria Park and the Green Corridora linear park along the town's two main rivers, kept free of building because it lies on the flood plain, with Victoria Park just south of the town centre.
  • Conningbrook Lakeslakes in Ashford that Freedom Leisure lists among Julie Rose Stadium's facilities.
  • Stour Valley Walkfollows the Great Stour from Ashford to Lenham and Canterbury, linking with other long-distance paths.
  • North Downs Waythe National Trail divides near Wye, with one route to Dover via Folkestone and the other via Canterbury.
  • Greensand Way108 miles (174 km) along the Greensand Ridge from Haslemere in Surrey, ending at Hamstreet in the south of the borough.

Getting around

Rail and cycle routes to Ashford's gyms.

High speed

  • two Southeastern trains an hour off-peak to London St Pancras on High Speed 1, about 38 minutes
  • Ashford International recorded 3.792 million entries and exits in 2024/25

Rail

  • two trains an hour to London Charing Cross via Tonbridge and one to London Victoria via Maidstone East
  • trains to Dover, Ramsgate and Margate, and Southern's Marshlink service to Eastbourne via Hastings

Cycle

  • National Cycle Network route 17 runs from Rochester to Hythe through Ashford
  • route 18 runs from Canterbury to Tunbridge Wells

Who trains here

What the census and Sport England say about the people you'll train alongside.

  • 12.5%Population growth, 2011 to 2021From just under 118,000 to around 132,700, so a lot of people here are new to the area and looking for their routine.Census 2021
  • 59.5%Adults active 150+ min a weekBelow the South East's 67.4% and England's 64.6%, and 30.5% of adults do less than 30 minutes a week.Sport England Active Lives, Nov 2024–25
  • 12.7%Aged 25 to 34Up from 11.0% in 2011, while the borough's median age rose from 40 to 41.Census 2021

Ashford gym questions

What people ask before they train here.

How many gyms are there in Ashford?

Gymist lists 77 gyms, leisure centres, studios, combat gyms and sports venues across Ashford borough, from the town centre and Willesborough to Tenterden and the villages.

Which leisure centres are in Ashford, and who runs them?

Freedom Leisure runs them on behalf of Ashford Borough Council: the Stour Centre on Station Approach, Julie Rose Stadium on Willesborough Road, Tenterden Leisure Centre on Recreation Ground Road and the Spearpoint Pavilion at Kennington, which has football pitches and tennis courts. Some Stour Centre memberships include Julie Rose Stadium as well.

Where can I swim in Ashford?

The Stour Centre, next to Ashford International station, has the town's public pool, with swimming lessons and SEND sessions. In the south of the borough, Tenterden Leisure Centre has a 25 m pool with swimming lessons and a swim-only membership.

Where can I train outdoors for free in Ashford?

Victoria Park, just south of the town centre, is part of the Ashford Green Corridor, a linear park along the town's two main rivers. The Stour Valley Walk follows the river to Lenham and Canterbury, the North Downs Way divides near Wye, and the Greensand Way ends at Hamstreet after 108 miles from Haslemere.

How do I get to gyms in Ashford without a car?

Ashford International recorded 3.792 million entries and exits in 2024/25. Off-peak, Southeastern runs two high-speed trains an hour to St Pancras, about 38 minutes away, and two an hour to Charing Cross via Tonbridge, and Southern runs to Eastbourne via Hastings. The Stour Centre is beside the station. National Cycle Network routes 17 and 18 both pass through the town.

How do I find a gym buddy in Ashford?

Join Gymist free, add the gyms you use and when you train, and browse members near you. If there isn't a group for your kind of training yet, start one.

Train in Ashford? Join Gymist

Free to join. Save your gyms, share when you train, and connect with people training near you, from Willesborough to Tenterden.

Join Gymist free

Nearby areas