Sport & Fitness

Adventure racing
Teams race in a multi-disciplined challenge of navigation, endurance, skills and guts, running, climbing, mountain biking, kayaking and abseiling.

Badminton
Wave your rackets around at a club near you.

Boxing
Many local gyms offer training or try the popular classes led by former super-middleweight contender Enzo Giordano.

Canyoning and Coasteering
Canyoneers follow a running river as it travels,often at rapid speeds, through a rocky gorge. Coasteering has participants wetsuited, booted and buoyed up to follow the edge of the land, climbing, scrambling, cliff jumping and sea swimming.

Climbing
London’s mountains may be notable by their absence, but this doesn’t seem to have dampened the enthusiasm for climbing in the capital.

Cycling
Cycle through London's streets and parks, or hop on a train to the New Forest and pick up a bike when you get there.

Fencing
Take up the swashbuckling Olympic sport, suitable for all ages and agilities.

Handball
A mix of football and basketball but, as the name implies, the basic method of handling the ball involves the players' hands rather than their feet.

Ice skating
Skate solo, take lessons or have a bash at Broomball - hitting a small ball around the ice with a stick while wearing special rubber-soled shoes.

In-line skating
If you can stay upright, try the Friday night skates in Hyde Park or join the London Rollergirls. For the more vertically challenged there are lessons available for both kids and adults.

Korfball
A mixed-sex game similar to basketball and netball.

Martial arts/self defence
Pick up some scary-sounding defence moves at ki aikido, bujinkan koryu budo or ju-jitsu classes.

Parkour
Once mastered, the aim is to run, jump, climb, swing and vault to overcome any obstacle, indoors or out.

Running
Get your trainers on and run run run, how far is up to you.

Skateboarding
Skateboarding will always be one of the most challenging and aesthetically inspiring ways of telling gravity he’s nothing but a big girl’s blouse.

Surfing
This is one laid-back, sociable, egalitarian sport so book yourself a short-break surfing trip tailored to the needs of landlocked Londoners.

Cold swimming
With Britain’s lakes and rivers cleaner than ever before, outdoor swimming – popular with hearty types back in the early 1900s – is making a comeback. There are still 13 open air pools and lidos in London so, with our summers hotting up, take a deep breath and go for the plunge.

Improving swimming technique
Forget about thrashing about counting your laps, learn to swim with grace, efficiency and aesthetics.

Walking
Low-impact walks in the city or countryside, in the evenings and at the weekends.

Women only
Football, handball, martial arts, basketball, rugby and rowing, all exclusively for the fairer sex.