Hi,

I'm thinking of joining the gym at Ponds Forge as the one I used to go to has closed.

Does anyone know what the car parking facilities are? and do they cost? and if there is a car park, does it get filled up? Because I will be going after work abut 5ish.

If not, does anyone know of a place to park for free and walk into the gym?

Thanks.

Car Parking facility at Ponds Forge is abysmal at the moment; I arrived at 6:40 on Monday evening to do a class (starting at 7), and by the time I'd gotten in to the car park (long wait), gotten up to the foyer area in the lift, and gotten to the class, I was 10 minutes late for the class! Honestly, I was more than 20 mins queing to get in to the car park.

As for place to park and walk, depends where you're coming in to town from; you could probably park a mile away, walk in, and still get their faster than if you'd parked in their car park.

Thanks for that, its really helpful to know. I work in the city centre and park near dixon ford, so i would walk back to the car and then drive to ponds forge. I had a look round today and the gym seems decent. Its took me a while to get a spot as the car park was full. Any suggestions about where to park in town? I would be driving past st Marys church and then past the train station?

i joined ponds forge and then found out about the parking charges. its 80p/£1.35 depending on the time, i think its £1.35 after half 7- so if you go three times a week it massivle drags up the monthly membership. i know you can use any of the 3 other gyms but i live nowhere near them. luckily i work in town now so can use it before getting on the tram.
Parking behind the bankers draft is free for an hour i think after 6:30.

I agree, you think 'ooh, 23 quid a month is good for all this!' but then when you are paying £1.35 to park every time it does drag the price up a bit! I've stopped going to Pond's Forge now as its always packed, I go to the gym at Don Valley which is really good now its been refurbished. Hardly ever seems busy and loads of car parking. Worth a visit, only bad thing is there is no pool.

Another good thing about being a member of fitness unlimited is that if you do need to go into town for whatever reason and don't fancy being ripped off by NCP or wherever, just park at Pond's Forge, pretend your going to the gym or swimming and get your ticket stamped, and you have 3 hours city centre parking for £1.35.

I agree, you think 'ooh, 23 quid a month is good for all this!' but then when you are paying £1.35 to park every time it does drag the price up a bit! I've stopped going to Pond's Forge now as its always packed, I go to the gym at Don Valley which is really good now its been refurbished. Hardly ever seems busy and loads of car parking. Worth a visit, only bad thing is there is no pool.

Another good thing about being a member of fitness unlimited is that if you do need to go into town for whatever reason and don't fancy being ripped off by NCP or wherever, just park at Pond's Forge, pretend your going to the gym or swimming and get your ticket stamped, and you have 3 hours city centre parking for £1.35.

i could get to don valley but it means going home and then going out again and by the time i get home i just wanna collapso! also means i have to get boyf to move his car off the drive so i can get at mine.... BUT, do they have a power plate at don valley- that might sway it for me? ponds forge sauna is shut til june as well, is don valley's open?

Thanks for that Dave, I might check Don Valley out.

i could get to don valley but it means going home and then going out again and by the time i get home i just wanna collapso! also means i have to get boyf to move his car off the drive so i can get at mine.... BUT, do they have a power plate at don valley- that might sway it for me? ponds forge sauna is shut til june as well, is don valley's open?

I have no idea what a power plate is so couldn't say! It was only refurbished mid-January though and its all brand new equipment so I'm guessing they probably have...Also just recently they have installed new saunas into both the Male and Female changing rooms, but haven't had chance to try it out yet!

The Source gym have a power plate. They charge £2 for members and a bit more for non members. I think its a peice of equipment you stand on and its meant to have proven results which suggest, if you use it you are more likely to lose weight even if you have arthritis etc.. not reallly sure as I'v never used it. But it sounds good.

The Source gym have a power plate. They charge £2 for members and a bit more for non members. I think its a peice of equipment you stand on and its meant to have proven results which suggest, if you use it you are more likely to lose weight even if you have arthritis etc.. not reallly sure as I'v never used it. But it sounds good.

cool, where is the Source?! good to know for when my membership runs out!

The source is fab, thats where I have now joined. It's £35 per month, but £25 if you are attached to a retail business. My mate is, so I got in for £25 too.

The Source gym is located opposite Meadowhall.

The source is fab, thats where I have now joined. It's £35 per month, but £25 if you are attached to a retail business. My mate is, so I got in for £25 too.

The Source gym is located opposite Meadowhall.

ah, thats quite a way out of my way really. i live in heeley. i go to ponds forge because i work in town so ca go straight after. I am going with my friend tonight to a private gym she has access to- hoping to abuse the sauna facilities to fasttrac my weightloss for the summer!

Aww, never mind. I did like ponds forge, but the parking was a problem for me. Good luck with it all.

hey, I've just picked up this thread and think I might be able to help!

Did you know that you can now park at the Q-Park, on the corner as you head into Ponds Forge car park! If you get your ticket swapped at Ponds Forge reception then you only have to pay Ponds Forge rates - but the real bonus is that you never have to queue and there's always loads of BIG spaces to choose from.

Q-Park tend to keep their shutters down for security purposes, but when you drive up to them they open automatically and you can always get a space.

Makes life soooooooooooo much easier!

If only I knew about this info yesterday, as I joined the Source gym. To be fair, im getting a good deal, and the gym there is really nice, and iv got a buddy to keep me motivated. Maybe this info will help others who struggle with parking.

Thanks anyway.

Hi Naz25,

Arghh - at least you've joined a gym though hey that's the main thing - Happy training!

I know!! Nevermind, I'm paying £25 which is pretty good and its a much nicer/cleaner gym then ponds forge and parking is free.. he he.

yeah that is a good deal - I'm just hanging in there for the new gym at Ponds Forge to open in June. Have you seen it? They've got a viewing window now so that you can see the builders working (woo woo!) - it's gonna be a massive gym with all new kit. Quite exciting really!

Aww, bless ya, its the little things in life. Yeh, i went round to take a look and the guy there was telling me that they are having a refurb and that members will get their own changing rooms. lol

I think it's wrong that you have to pay to pay to park at 1 gym and don't have to at the other 3. You'd think £26 a month would be enough but it obviously is not.

Also It's the closest one to most people being in the city centre.

Hi Carl

As we are based in the city centre and because there is a very limited amount of car parking spaces, there is a need to charge, to ensure that people dont park here all day and thus would mean the car park was full all of the time (and this would be unfair to other users).

We keep our parking prices very low (possibly the lowest price in the city centre), so that it is reasonable for our customers - Just £1.35 for 3 hours. After 6.30pm there is free on-street parking right next to the centre.

I hope this helps.

Thanks

Neil
Pond Forge