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Gyms in Newark and Sherwood

From Newark on the Trent to the heart of Sherwood Forest, with an Olympic-standard speed wall and miles of forest trails. Here's where to train in Newark and Sherwood and who to train with.

Gyms and venues
139
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Showing 1–24 of 139 gyms

Towns and villages in Newark and Sherwood

From Newark and Balderton on the Trent to Ollerton, Edwinstowe and Blidworth in the forest.

Training in Newark and Sherwood

A market town, a minster town and a forest, with a climbing wall built to Olympic standard.

Newark and Sherwood is home to around 123,000 people (Census 2021), up 7.1% since 2011, with a median age of 45. In Sport England's Active Lives survey for November 2024 to 2025, 65.3% of adults here did 150 minutes or more of activity a week, higher than neighbouring Mansfield (60.5%) and Ashfield (60.0%), and 24.0% did less than 30 minutes.

Active4Today runs the council's leisure centres: Newark Sports and Fitness Centre on Lord Hawke Way, with a pool, fitness suite and squash courts, Dukeries Leisure Centre on Main Road in Boughton, and Blidworth Leisure Centre. Southwell Leisure Centre belongs to a community trust. Also on Lord Hawke Way, the YMCA Community and Activity Village has a 15 m climbing wall and an IFSC Olympic-standard speed wall. Around them are strength gyms in Newark, Manor House Fitness in Ollerton and boxing and jiu-jitsu gyms.

Then there's Sherwood Forest, Sherwood Pines and Rufford Abbey on the doorstep. It's easier to get out there with the right company. Gymist is how you find them.

Where to train in Newark and Sherwood

The public leisure centres first, then the YMCA village, the strength gyms and the fight gyms.

Public leisure centres

Climbing and the YMCA village

Gyms and health clubs

Combat and martial arts

Find a training buddy in Newark and Sherwood

A belay partner at the YMCA wall, someone to share the racks at Code Fitness, a riding partner for the Sherwood Pines trails: find people nearby who train when you do.

Find a buddy

Start a Newark and Sherwood training group

A Saturday crew for the 9am 5 km at Sherwood Pines, a weekend ride along the Southwell Trail, a run round Rufford Abbey's lake: set it up in minutes and we'll help locals find it.

Start a group

Train outdoors

Free places to train in Newark and Sherwood.

  • Sherwood PinesForestry England's forest park east of Kings Clipstone, with mountain bike trails, a skills loop, family cycle routes and a free 5 km run every Saturday at 9am.
  • Sherwood Forest National Nature Reservea reserve of 424.75 hectares surrounding Edwinstowe, with an RSPB visitor centre opened in 2018.
  • Southwell Trail7.5 miles (12.1 km) of old railway between Bilsthorpe and Southwell, shared by walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
  • Rufford Abbey Country Park150 acres of park and woodland two miles south of Ollerton, with a lake dating from around 1750.
  • Sconce and Devon Parka Newark park holding the remains of the Queen's Sconce, a Civil War fort.

Getting around

Rail and bus routes to Newark and Sherwood's gyms.

Rail

  • Newark North Gate: about 1.079 million passengers in 2024/25, on the East Coast Main Line with LNER trains to London King's Cross
  • Newark Castle on East Midlands Railway's Nottingham to Lincoln line

Bus

  • Newark bus station is the hub for local services, with routes to Nottingham, Mansfield, Grantham, Lincoln and Retford
  • operators include Stagecoach East Midlands, Nottingham City Transport and Marshalls

Cycle

  • the Southwell Trail, a 7.5-mile shared-use path from Bilsthorpe to Southwell

Who trains here

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

  • 65.3%Adults active 150+ minutes a weekHigher than neighbouring Mansfield (60.5%) and Ashfield (60.0%), with forest trails on the doorstep.Sport England Active Lives, Nov 2024–25
  • 45Median ageUp two years since 2011, while the share aged 25 to 34 rose from 10.2% to 12.0%.Census 2021
  • 7.1%Population growth since 2011To around 123,000 people across Newark, Southwell, Ollerton and the forest villages.Census 2021

Newark and Sherwood gym questions

What people ask before they train here.

How many gyms are there in Newark and Sherwood?

Gymist lists 139 gyms, leisure centres, pools, studios, climbing walls and sports venues across Newark and Sherwood, from the Active4Today centres and the YMCA village to strength gyms, Pilates studios, fight gyms and village sports clubs.

Which leisure centres are in Newark and Sherwood, and who runs them?

Active4Today is the council's operator for Newark Sports and Fitness Centre on Lord Hawke Way in Newark, Dukeries Leisure Centre on Main Road in Boughton and Blidworth Leisure Centre on Belle Vue Lane. Southwell Leisure Centre on Nottingham Road is owned by the Southwell Leisure Centre Trust, a charity, and managed with Parkwood Leisure.

Where can I climb in Newark and Sherwood?

The YMCA Climbing Centre at the YMCA Community and Activity Village on Lord Hawke Way, Newark, has a 15 m main wall, bouldering areas and a speed wall built to IFSC Olympic standard. The village also has a strength and conditioning gym, courts, athletics and football facilities and bike tracks.

Where can I train outdoors for free in Newark and Sherwood?

Sherwood Pines, east of Kings Clipstone, has mountain bike trails, family cycle routes and a free 5 km run every Saturday at 9am. Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve covers 424.75 hectares around Edwinstowe. The Southwell Trail is a 7.5-mile shared path for walkers, cyclists and riders between Bilsthorpe and Southwell, and Rufford Abbey Country Park has 150 acres of park and woodland.

How do I get to gyms in Newark and Sherwood without a car?

Newark North Gate is on the East Coast Main Line, with LNER trains to London King's Cross, and recorded about 1.079 million passengers in 2024/25. Newark Castle station is on East Midlands Railway's Nottingham to Lincoln line. Newark bus station is the hub for local buses, with routes to Nottingham, Mansfield, Grantham, Lincoln and Retford.

How do I find a gym buddy in Newark and Sherwood?

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

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