Stay Active in Loughborough: The Best Student Sports and Fitness Options

Luke Williams

Walk across Loughborough’s campus on a weekday morning, and you will hear it: the clank of plates, a whistle on a distant pitch, trainers squeaking on a sports hall floor. This is a town that takes sport seriously, and the good news is you can join in at any level.

Stay Active in Loughborough: The Best Student Sports and Fitness Options

What Can You Use on Campus?

Plenty, depending on your membership. Loughborough Sport has four levels. Gold covers Powerbase, Holywell Gym, the pool, and fitness classes, plus 40% off pay-as-you-go. Silver covers Holywell Gym, the pool and classes, with four Powerbase sessions a year and 30% off. Bronze and Purple are lighter, with 20% and 10% discounts.

Academic year memberships are priced over the eight months of term, and the holidays come free. Just know that £10 of the fee is a joining fee. Prefer to pay as you go? From 1 September 2026, a Holywell or Powerbase session costs £10.50 at the standard rate, a swim £6.00 and a studio class £6.50.

Why Does Everyone Talk About Powerbase?

Because it is huge. Powerbase is one of the country’s largest strength and conditioning gyms, and Base, opened in 2023, stretches across 3,200 square metres. You get 46 lifting platforms, a three-lane 35m indoor track, two cardio areas and 32 Wattbikes. Base adds a Boxing Centre of Excellence with two rings. Performance squads train here, yet every Loughborough University student can use it too.

Can You Work Out Without Heading to Campus?

Yes. Loughborough Leisure Centre on Browns Lane has a gym, a pool, a sauna and a steam room. If you are living at The Print House on Woodgate, close to the town centre, it makes an easy alternative on days you are not on campus.

Where Can You Get Some Fresh Air?

Beacon Hill, for a start. Every Saturday at 9 am, its country park hosts a free 5K parkrun, organised by volunteers, from the Lower Car Park on Breakback Road in Woodhouse Eaves. Sign up with parkrun before your first one.

Closer to town, the Outwoods offers woodland walks under a proper canopy. Charnwood Borough Council charges £2 to park for the day, though Nanpantan Sports Ground has free parking a short walk away. The woods close in bad weather, so check before heading out after a storm.

Top Tips

  • Padel on campus costs £30 an hour at the standard rate. Split it four ways, and you pay £7.50 each.
  • Changed your mind? Gym sessions, classes and swims can be cancelled up to an hour before for a credit note, so nothing goes to waste.
  • The Beacon Hill Cafe opens at 9 am, and the parkrun crowd often piles in for a post-5K coffee.
  • Beach volleyball courts on campus cost £19 an hour at the standard rate, which makes for a cheap summer afternoon with friends.

Loughborough makes it easy to keep moving, whatever your level. If you want a base close to town, The Print House from Urban Student Living is a good place to start.